The founder and executive director of Refuge Place International-Liberia (RPI) Doctor Mosoka Fallah, along with selected health experts from around the world, has been invited to speak at a forum organized by the Vulnerability, Trauma, Resilience and Culture Research Laboratory, otherwise known as V- V-TRaC Lab.
Located in Ottawa, Canada, the V-TRaC research lab studies the impact of vulnerability and trauma in relation to coping and resilience strategies. Its research aims to integrate clinical, developmental, individual, community, family, social and cultural factors in order to develop culturally appropriate assessment, prevention and intervention tools that meet the real needs of individuals and communities.
The V-TRaC lab has three main research axes, namely; Vulnerability and trauma, racial disparities in health and social services global mental health.
Accordingly, Dr. Fallah, who is also a part-time lecturer at the state-run University of Liberia (UL) and Harvard Medical School in the United States of America (USA), will speak to the colloquium along with Dr. Svenn-Erik Mamelund of the Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway, Dr. Roger Keil and Dr. James Orbinski all of the York University in Canada as well as Dr. S. Harris Ali, Chair of the York University.
The global health experts will speak through a video conference on the topic: “In what ways did the past infectious disease outbreak response impacts the current COVID response: Lessons Learned?”
The forum is part o f a colloquium series on infectious disease outbreaks: “Social sciences at the heart of surveillance, prevention and intervention strategies.”
Dr. Fallah, who is the immediate former Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), will specifically speak on the topic: “Liberia and COVID-19: -Early preparation for detection, isolation and community mobilization: Lessons from the failures and opportunities of Ebola.”
The renowned public health expert has been at the center of global advocacy for joint effort for the COVAX platform as a way for equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, an advocacy which resulted to the U.S. announcing plan to join the platform.
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“On their own at the current market price, there will be very few African countries that will be able to procure the vaccine,” Mosoka Fallah, told this week’s Africa Calling podcast on Radio France International (RFI) in continuation of his advocacy. “Covax has a challenge of funding, to see if they can raise the bar above the 20%,” he added.
