Previous Speakers for ADN’s Special Sessions

11 October 2024 – Future Leaders Tackling ‘Wicked Problems’ to Reduce Avoidable Deaths

102. Ms. Anushka Konar contributes her voice and creativity to ADN’s Junior Champions Magazine.

101. Mr. Arkoneil Ghosh, ADN’s Junior Champion, raising awareness about preventable deaths.

100. Ms. Lauren MacLeod has been ADN’s Research Administrator and Activity Coordinator since 2021. She conducts outreach workshops to raise awareness about snakebite prevention in at-risk communities.

99. Mr. Yunes Abou El Wafa, co-leader of ‘SAFER ODISHA – Securing Agriculture from Environmental Risks’.

98. Mr. Eduardo Cardoso, co-leader of ‘SAFER ODISHA – Securing Agriculture from Environmental Risks’, an initiative to protect rural Odisha’s agriculture from the impact of climate change.

97. Mr. Aditya Anurag Nanda, Entrepreneur dedicated to promoting millets as a solution for food security.  

96. Mr. Asad Tahir Jappa, Founder and President of the Sustainable Leadership forum.

95. Ms. Giulia Crisitiana, Founder and Vice-President of the Sustainable Leadership Forum. She leads initiatives on plastic awareness and its impact on health and the environment.

25 January 2024  – Burn Deaths and Burn Injury are Avoidable

93. Ms. Danielle Antonellis Danielle is the Founder and Executive Director of Kindling, a USA-based non-profit organization with the mission of connecting fire safety knowledge to local and global humanitarian and development efforts to reduce the unequal impact of fire on people, property, and livelihoods in vulnerable communities around the world.

92. Dr. Tanveer Ahmed Dr. Tanveer is a Bangladesh trained Plastic Surgeon and an Associate Professor in the ‘Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery’ in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has a special interest in reconstruction, burn, post-burn, hand, congenital, paediatric plastic & wound care.

91. Ms. Shobha Chamania Ms. Shobha is presently a senior surgeon attached to the Choithram Hospital and research centre, Indore, India. She has established the first comprehensive Burn care facility in Central India in 1988.

90. Dr. Jonathan Bayou Dr. Jonathan is a research assistant professor in Nursing and a clinical academic Nurse specialising in burn, plastics and reconstructive surgical nursing and sub-specialising in geriatrics, pain management, palliative/ end of life care.  He is affiliated with the Presbyterian University, Ghana and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

89. Ms. Ziphilly Chiumia Sichinga Ziphilly Chiumia Sichinga is  a Senior Nursing Officer at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi with 8 years experience in burn care. She is also a burn Nutrition fellow and very much passionate with improving burn care through mentorship, provision of direct nursing care and leadership and trainings and research.

17 January 2024  – Snakebite Deaths Are Avoidable: Awareness Raising Webinar for The Art of Living Volunteers

88. Col. Sanjay Srivastava Chairman of the Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council (CROPC). Professor of Practice at the TERI School of Advanced Studies. Disaster and Climate Risk Management Expert within Government of India in New Delhi.

Dr. Amarendra Mohapatra Scientist G and Head of Epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) in Odisha.

87. Dr. Pratyush Mohapatra Scientist-E and Officer-in-Charge at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita Associate Professor in Disaster Mitigation and Safety Education at Kansai University’s Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences in Japan. Co-Founding President of the Avoidable Deaths Network.

Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett Associate Professor in Risk Management at the University of Leicester’s School of Business. Co-Founding President and Convenor of the Avoidable Deaths Network.

86. Dr. Stephen Samuel Senior Vice President of Clinical Medicine at Ophirex, Inc. A visiting Physician Scientist with collaborator institutions in India specialising in treating snakebite victims, and education and awareness programs to mitigate snakebite deaths. 

85. Ms. Lauren MacLeod Activity Coordinator and Volunteer at the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) India Hub and Orissa State Volunteers and Social Workers Association (OSVSWA).

7 July 2023- Reducing Avoidable Baby and Women’s Deaths Through Improved Rights and Ecosystem for Breastfeeding

84. Dr Julie Smith is an Honorary Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow at the Research School of Population Health, ANU. Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy’s Tax and Transfer Policy Institute.

83. Alessandro Iellamos the senior emergency nutrition adviser for Family Health International 360 (Fhi360) supports a maternal, infant, and young child nutrition specialist.

82. Andini Pramono is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and is in her final year of PhD at the Australian National University. 

The chairs of the session were Dr Nimra Iqbal Choudhary and Ms Nimisha Goswami.

The session was facilitated by Ms Eilidh Thorburn and Dr Sari Andajani.

The Webinar series Chairperson was Dr Nibedita Ray-Bennett


31 May 2023 – Stories of Resource Scarcity, Security and Sustainability of South Asian Women 

81. Prof. Deepthi Wickramasinghe Senior Professor in Zoology and Environment Sciences at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

80. Ms. Vihanga Amarakoon Assistant Lecturer in Zoology and Environment Sciences, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She holds an Honours Degree in Environment Sciences from the University of Colombo. Her research area is Disaster Risk Reduction and the community’s perception of floods.

79. Ms. Ashmita Thapa Magar Master of Disaster Management student at BRAC University, Bangladesh.

78. Ms Debaleena Roy Project Associate at the South Asia Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (SAADRI), headquartered at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India.

77. Ms Damithri Chathumani PhD candidate at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand and her research area is focused on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction.

The chairs of the session were Dr Nimra Iqbal Choudhary and Ms Nimisha Goswami. The session was moderated by Dr Inshah Malik.

The Webinar series Chairperson was Dr Nibedita Ray-Bennett


8 March 2023- Between Hope and Fear: Afghan Women and Girls in Political Transition

76. Niamatullah Zafary, PhD candidate. 2021-22 Chevening scholar and Sussex graduate. Former human development coordinator at UNDP.

75. Dr Ritu Mahendru is the Executive Director of Vashi Impact Group. She is a human and women rights defender based out of England. She has worked extensively on Sexual and Reproductive Health Access in Afghanistan.

74. Fakhria Naistani is a psychologist and former senior Project assistant for psychosocial reintegration at IOM-UN. Queen Mary University of London graduate.

73. Wajiha Timori is an admitted lawyer and former legal advisor to Afghanistan Central Bank. She holds an LLB and MIR degree and is pursuing an LLM with AUCA.

72. Sania Amin Taheri is a senior compliance Officer at the Afghanistan Central Bank and a proud graduate of a Master in International Relations.

71. Professor Heiko Balzter is the Director of the Institute for Environmental Futures at the University of Leicester, undertaking transdisciplinary research into the climate and species extinction crisis across social, physical and health sciences.

Dr Nibedita Ray-Bennett is an Associate Professor in Risk Management at the University of Leicester. She is also the Founding President and Convenor of the Avoidable Deaths Network. 

The session was chaired by Dr Inshah Malik and Dr Ayse Yildiz (School of Business, University of Leicester).


19 January 2023- Building Capacity of Health Journalists on Reporting Disasters Triggered by Natural Hazards and Human Activities

70. Prof. Dr Mohammad Wasay, Secretary Karachi Chapter, Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS)

69. Mr Waqar Bhatti Special Correspondent Health The News International and Geo News

Prof. Dr. Nibedita S. Ray Bennett Associate Professor in Risk Management University of Licester

Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita Associate Professor at the University of Kansai, Founding President of the ADN

68. Dr. Aditya Gosh University of Leicester Teaching fellow in Environmental Geography

67. Dr Nimra Choudhary,  Avoidable Death Network (ADN), UK, Auckland University of Technology

The workshop was co-organised by Co-organized by International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Sindh Innovation Research, and Education Network (SIREN), Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS, Sindh Chapter), and Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) 


7 December 2022 – Neglected Areas of Disaster Loss and Damage

66. Dr Anil Gupta – Director of Projects and Centre of Excellence, Head of Division and e-learning & Media Portfolio, International Cooperation, Technical Advisory & Consultancy Services as Full Professor of India’s National Institute of Disaster Management – presented ‘Assessment of Loss and Damages from Climate Related Disasters in India: Methodological & process challenges – Lessons from India‘.

65. RT Honourable Shawn Edward – Minister of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training at the Government of Saint Lucia – discussed Neglected Areas of Disaster Loss and Damage. 

64. Dr. Golam Rasul – Professor, Department of Economics at International University of Business Agriculture and Technology, Dhaka – presented ‘Addressing loss and damage in Bangladesh’s vulnerable coastal areas‘. 

63. Mr. Samuel Akera – Senior Resilience Advisor at UNDP Ethiopia – presented ‘Addressing neglected areas of disaster loss and damage in recovery planning – UNDP’s Experience‘.

62. Mr. Rahul Sengupta – Programme Management Officer at UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in Bonn – gave Special Remarks with a ‘Brief on what data-related challenges we find in the Sendai Framework monitoring process’.

The session was chaired by Dr. Yazidhi Bamutaze , Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett, Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita and Mr. Julian Coetzee.


14 November 2022 – Raising Awareness on Intercultural Understanding of the Environment

This session was moderated by Dr. Christian Morgner, Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Creative Industries, Management School at the University of Sheffield.


17 October 2022 – Building Climate Resilient Healthcare Infrastructure: Post Disaster Scenario in Pakistan

61. Dr. Bilal Anwar, CEO of the National Disaster Risk Management Fund presented ‘Systematic overview of health management systems facing disasters’. 

60. Dr. Mohammad Wasay, Secretary of Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) Karachi Chapter presented ‘Healthcare challenges in disaster refugees’.

Professor Michael Petterson, Geoscientist at Auckland University of Technology presented ‘Redefining ‘extreme’ with respect to disasters in Pakistan and setting the science in a societal context’. 

Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett, Founder of ADN presented ‘RHCC Model to promote disaster resilience at primary healthcare level’. 

59. Dr. Ghazna Khalid, Technocrat, Social Activist and Gynaecologist presented ‘Women’s health issues in disaster areas’.

The session was chaired by Dr. Nimra Iqbal Choudhary, Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita, Dr. Mohammad Wasay and Dr. Humaira Zafar


13 October 2022 – International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction: Early Warning and Early Action for All

58. Professor Michael Petterson, Geoscientist at Auckland University of Technology presented ‘Early warning case studies for cyclones and tsunamis in the Pacific Islands region‘.

Mr. Sheikh Khairul Rahaman, Anticipation Delegate at German Red Cross presented ‘Value of saving lives through early warning and early action’.

The session was chaired by Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett and Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita. Housekeeping was done by Mr. Julian Coetzee


30 September 2022 – International Snakebite Awareness Day: Challenges and Opportunities to Reduce Avoidable Snakebite Deaths in Odisha/ India

57. Dr. Amarendra Mohapatra, Medical Anthropologist within the Head Epidemiology Division at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Bhubaneswar presented ‘Five ways to prevent snakebites in Odisha: ICMR’s approach‘.

56. Dr. Nishant Saxena, Scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research – National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur, India (ICMR-NIRTH Jabalpur) presented ‘Traditional healing practices for snakebites in Saharia tribe of Madhya Pradesh, India’.

55. Mr. Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary at Snake Helpline presented ‘Voices from the frontline’. 

54. Dr. Sudipta Ranjan Singh, Additional Professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar presented ‘Reducing the burden of snakebite deaths in Odisha: AIIMS approach through science and social science methods’.

53. Dr. Surajit Giri, Consultant Anaesthesiologist at Demow Rural Community Health Centre presented ‘A novel model in snake bite management from a rural community health centre of Assam, North East India: Impact on morbidity and mortality’. 

52. Dr. Matthew Lewin, Chief Scientific Officer at Ophirex and Dr. Stephen Samuel, Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Ophirex presented ‘sPLA2 Inhibition for the Treatment of Snakebite Envenoming’.

51. Ms. Nimisha Goswami, Future Leader at ADN presented ‘Causes and circumstances of snakebite deaths in Ganjam district in Odisha’. 

Master Arkoneil Ghosh, Junior Champion at ADN presented a poster on ‘Seven steps to prevent snakebites’.

The session was chaired by Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett, Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita, Mr. Dillip Pattanaik, Dr. Ambika Prasad Nanda and Dr. Madhulika Sahoo.


25 July 2022 – World Drowning Prevention Day: The Future of Drowning Risk in the Context of COVID-19 and Climate Change

50. Dr. Aminur Rahman, Director of the International Drowning Research Centre – Bangladesh, which is part of the Centre for Injury Prevention, Health Development and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) presented on the ‘CIPRB’s Leadership in Preventing Drowning: Past, Present and Future Initiatives in Bangladesh and Beyond’.

49. Dr. Colleen Saunders, Senior Lecturer in Emergency Medicine at the University of Cape Town in South Africa presented on ‘Keeping our head above water during uncertain times’.

48. Dr. Olive Kobusingye, Accident & Emergency Surgeon and Injury Epidemiologist and Senior Research Fellow at Makerere University School of Public Health presented on ‘Drowning while at work – has COVID-19 changed anything?’.

47. Ms. Racheal Nantume, Master of Science in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management student at the University of Leicester presented a poster on ‘Avoiding Drowning Injury and Deaths in Uganda through the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2006′.

46. Master Arkoneil Ghosh, ADN Intern and Junior Champion presented a poster on ’10 Ways to Prevent Drowning Deaths’.

45. Ms. Judith Omasete, WASH Consultant and Community Conversation Officer at the Norwich City Council presented ‘Climate change and drowning risk in Bangladesh and Tanzania and the implications for RNLI programmes’ on behalf of the University of East Anglia and ADN.

44. Mr. Tom Mecrow, Senior International Evidence Manger at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution gave the talk ‘Wrapping Up. 

This session was chaired by Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett and Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita, Presidents of ADN. 


04 May 2022 – Avoidable Deaths: Anticipatory Framework to Reduce Disaster Deaths at the UNOCHA Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks

Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett, Founding President of the ADN presented on the ‘Avoidable Deaths Framework’. 

43. Mr. Sheikh Khairul Rahaman, Forecast-based Financing Project Delegate at the German Red Cross presented on the ‘German Red Cross’s Anticipatory Action Framework to Reduce Disaster Deaths’.

42. Dr. Ambika Prasad Nanda, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Tata Steel presented on ‘Zero Casualty at Any Cost: The Government of Odisha’s Mission Statement to Reduce Disaster Deaths’. 

41. Dr. Albrecht Beck, President of Prepared International presented on ‘Prepared International’s (PPI) Framework to enable early action to Reduce Disaster Deaths’.

40. Professor Norio Okada, Emiratus Professor at Kyoto University gave ‘Concluding Remarks.

The session was chaired by Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita (Kansai University and the Avoidable Deaths Network).


25 March 2022 – Exclusion and Avoidable Disaster Deaths

39. Mr. Ryan Joseph Figueiredo, Founder and Executive Director of Equal Asia Foundation presented on ‘Social Exclusion, LGBTQ and Avoidable Disaster Deaths’.

38. Dr. Madhulika Sahoo, Assistant Professor at the Department of Anthropology at Kalahandi University in India presented on ‘Social Exclusion and Avoidable Disaster Deaths’.

37. Mr. Daniel Mendez, Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean at ADN presented on ‘Children and Avoidable Disaster Deaths in the Caribbean‘.

36. Ms. Denise Robateau, Education Officer and Emergency Relief Point at UNICEF Belize presented on ‘Children and Avoidable Disaster Deaths in the Caribbean‘.

35. Ms. Aditi Ghosh, former Deputy Humanitarian Director at IPPF Humanitarian Hub in Bangkok presented on ‘Inclusive Programming – A Mandate, Not a Choice’.


28 January 2022 –Reducing Avoidable Disaster Deaths through Effective Mitigation and Response

34. Professor Mehdi Zaré from the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES) and the Department of Basic Science at the Academy of Sciences in Tehran, Iran presented on ‘Reducing avoidable deaths from water crisis, floods, and drought through effective mitigation measures in Iran’.

33. Dr. Mohammad Reza Nikoo from the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the Sultan Qaboos University, Oman and a Member of the Iranian Federation of Young Elite presented on ‘Reducing flood risk through effective management measures in Tehran, Iran’

32. Ms. Sanam Moghimi from the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering within the Structural Engineering Department at the LNEC, Lisbon presented on ‘Reducing earthquake deaths from effective seismic code in Lisbon’

31. Mr. Mostafa Mohaghegh from UNESCAP presented on ‘Experience of coordinating disaster response to save lives’.

It was organised by the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) in collaboration with the University of Tehran. Dr. Khadije Norouzi Khatiri and Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett chaired the Special Session.


10 December 2021 – Symposium on Integrating Disaster Risk Management with Emergency Services and Defence to Reduce Avoidable Disaster Deaths

Session 1: Inaugural Session

30. Ms. Mami Mizutori, Head of United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction gave a Keynote Address in the Inaugural Session on ‘Introducing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Sustainable Development, Avoidable Deaths and Disaster Responders in the Caribbean Region’.

29. Mr. Shawn Edward, Minister of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training in St. Lucia participated in the Inaugural Session on ‘Introducing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Sustainable Development, Avoidable Deaths and Disaster Responders in the Caribbean Region’.

28. Dr. Sanjay Badri-Maharaj, an Independent Defence Analyst and Attorney at Law in Trinidad and Tobago participated in the Inaugural Session on ‘Introducing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Sustainable Development, Avoidable Deaths and Disaster Responders in the Caribbean Region’.

Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett, Associate Professor in Risk Management at the University of Leicester and Founding President of the ADN gave a presentation in the Inaugural Session on ‘Introducing Avoidable Deaths and Disaster Responders in the Caribbean Region’.

27. Professor Alois Hirschmugl, Technical Director of Disaster Management Advice and Training (DMAT) Consulting KG gave a presentation in the Inaugural Session on ‘Introducing Avoidable Deaths and Disaster Responders in the Caribbean Region’.

The Inaugural Session was moderated by Mr. Krishna Clarke and Dr. Albrecht Beck.

Session 2: Emergency Services

26. Commissioner Edvin Martin, Second Vice President of the ACCP, Grenada gave a presentation in the Emergency Services Session on ‘Voices of the Fire, Police, Search and Rescue Services in Reducing Avoidable Disaster Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

25. Mr. Errol Maynard, Chief Fire Officer of the Barbados Fire Service and President of the Caribbean Association of Fire Chiefs gave a presentation in the Emergency Services Session on ‘Voices of the Fire, Police, Search and Rescue Services in Reducing Avoidable Disaster Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

24. Mr. Octavio Restrepo Calderon, President and Director of the Caribbean Urban Search and Rescue, Curacao gave a presentation in the Emergency Services Session on ‘Voices of the Fire, Police, Search and Rescue Services in Reducing Avoidable Disaster Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

The Emergency Services session’s discussants were Mr. David Wales, Mr. Daniel Cossio and Dr. Christian Morgner.

Session 3: Defence Services

23. Lt. Col. Tony Cheales, Commanding Officer within the Ministry of Defence, UK gave a presentation in the Defence Services session on ‘Voices of Military and Civilians – Disaster Response Mission Experiences to Reduce Avoidable Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

22. Ms. Keisha Linton, Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance Officer at the Regional Security Systems (RSS) Headquarters gave a presentation in the Defence Services session on ‘Voices of Military and Civilians – Disaster Response Mission Experiences to Reduce Avoidable Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

21. Major Rene Savelsbergh, Dutch Civil-Military Advisor for the Caribbean Region based at the Naval Headquarters in Curacao gave a presentation in the Defence Services session on ‘Voices of Military and Civilians – Disaster Response Mission Experiences to Reduce Avoidable Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

20. Major Rogelio Pop, SO2 G3 Principal Staff Officer within the Defence Force, Belize gave a presentation in the Defence Services session on ‘Voices of Military and Civilians – Disaster Response Mission Experiences to Reduce Avoidable Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

19. Ms. Priya Thirumur, Charitable Director and International Project Manager of K1 Britannia Foundation gave a presentation in the Defence Services session on ‘Voices of Military and Civilians – Disaster Response Mission Experiences to Reduce Avoidable Deaths in the Caribbean Region’.

The Defence Services session discussants were Dr. Albrecht Beck, Professor Alois Hirschmugl and Mr. Daniel Mendez.

Session 4: Closing Session

18. Ms. Elizabeth Riley, Executive Director of Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency gave a Keynote Address in ‘Closing the Symposium’.

17. Mr. Paul Saunders, Operations Officer (Environmental Sustainability) in the Caribbean Development Bank gave a talk on ‘Closing the Symposium’.

16. Mr. Ronald Jackson, Head of Disaster Risk Reduction & Recovery Team for Building Resilience in the United Development Programme (UNDP) in Geneva gave a talk on ‘Beginning of a Novel Chapter in the Caribbean Region’. 

The Closing Session was moderated by Dr. Albrecht Beck, Professor Alois Hirschmugl and Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett.


16 June 2021 – Reducing Deaths and Injuries from Residential Fire through Human Perspective

15. Dr Christian Morgner from the University of Sheffield presented on ‘A Person-Centred Approach to Fire Safety ‘. Please click here for the presentation.

14. Gill Kernick from JMJ Associate presented on ‘Systemic Change: On Myths and Disruption’ . Please click here for the presentation.

13. Mr Phil Murphy, a High-Rise Residential Building Fire Safety Management advisor presented on ‘High-Rise Residential Building (HRRB) Evacuation Factcheck’ . Please click here for the presentation.

This was an open session facilitated by Shared Aim


7 May 2021 – Special Session on Let’s Talk About Silent Deaths

12. Mr. Hari Krishna from UNDP presented on ‘Million Bites and Avoidable Deaths in our Streets’

11. Mr. Ashis Biswas from Tagore Society for Rural Development presented on ‘Sudden Death in the Sundarbans’


4 March 2021 – Special Session on Disaster Risk Management – Discourses from Asia and Latin America

Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita from Kansai University presented on ‘Implementation of Disaster Risk Education for Tsunami Hazard in Osaka, Japan’

10. Dr. Holmes Páez from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana presented on ‘Disasters, Reconstructions and Climate Change in Colombia  and Latin America’

9. Dr. Richard Kotter from Northumbria University presented on ‘Thinking Service Design for Improvements in Emergency Preparedness and Response: Cases from Pakistan (Lahore, Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, AJK) and the International Emergency Team UK


5 February 2021 – Special Session on Responding to Domestic Fires and Coastal Flooding: Lessons from UK, India and Cambodia

Dr. Nibedita Ray-Bennett from the University of Leicester presented on ‘Principles of Disaster Response: Lessons from Odisha, India’

8. Mr. David Wales from SharedAim presented on ‘The UK Fire and Rescue Service – an overview and research insights’

7. Dr. Amaka Adekoya presented on ‘Factors affecting Fire Emergency Response in Nigeria; the TCIF Perspective’

6. Mrs Denise Corsel from the University of Leicester presented on ‘Lessons from the Livelihood-Based Flood Response in Cambodia’


4 December 2020 – Special Session on Let’s Talk About Avoidable Deaths: Views from Multiple Sectors

5. Professor Prabhat Jha from the University of Toronto and the Centre for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital presented on ‘Avoidable Mortality in India: Lessons from the Million Death Study’

4. Mr. Gowri Shankar from Kalinga Centre for Rainforest Ecology (KCRE), and Kalinga Foundation presented on ‘Deaths in the Snakebite Capital of the World: India’

3. Mr. Gatkuoth Simon Kai from African Union Commission presented on ‘Progress on the Implementation of the Africa Programme of Action (PoA) for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030’

2. Ms. Ashley Wolfington from the International Planned Parenthood Federation presented on ‘Using the MISP to reduce excess mortality and morbidity in humanitarian crisis’

1. Dr. Afsana Alamgir Khan from the National Malaria Elimination and Aedes Transmission Disease Control Program, Bangladesh presented on ‘Avoidable Malaria Deaths in Bangladesh in 2020’