NSF launches landmark publication on COVID pandemic on 30th July at BMICH

COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most defining moments of our times and it has upended normal life and established systems across the globe with devastating and far-reaching impacts not only on health, but on the economy, society, multilateral trade, cooperation and aid. While those disruptions have been destabilising, they have also provided opportunities to discover and develop new models and pathways in many areas, including health, education, business, agriculture and trade. As Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. Prof. Mehmet Yildiz said adversity is a blessing in disguise because it helps to create new neural pathways in the brain, which is an essential factor for neuroplasticity and resilience.

In the course of combatting COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, a wide range of lessons were learnt, many best practices were identified, and new knowledge, insights, competencies and experiences were gained. They ought to be further studied, refined, analyzed, interpreted and documented for the benefit of posterity. This should be done without delay, lest a lot of the valuable information gathered, and the knowledge gained is lost forever.

In this decisive and critical hour, scientists and professionals in the country have an inescapable responsibility and a profound moral obligation to support the nation and its people. It is in this context, that the National Science Foundation, the premier national institution mandated to promote S&T for socio-economic development of the country and wellbeing of its people, organised a two-day national conference on 27th and 28th January 2021. It was entitled “COVID-19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience” and the theme of the conference was “From Adversity to Serendipity”. It brought together scientists, academics, professionals, economists, planners, and policy makers, as well as movers and shakers of industry. They deliberated on how best to tackle high priority health, economic, social and environmental issues emanating from the global pandemic while minimizing its impact on the economy and people of Sri Lanka. This endeavor was augmented by drawing upon the knowledge, expertise and insights of top-flight Sri Lankan scientists across the globe, i.e., in Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania and North America, thereby affording the event an international dimension.

The final outcome is a comprehensive volume of nearly 800 pages comprising 65 papers, collating local and global perspectives of combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been reviewed and edited by a team of competent reviewers and associate editors and finally by a panel of internationally renowned editors namely Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga, University of Huddersfield in the UK, Prof. Shanthi Mendis, former Senior Advisor to WHO in Geneva, Switzerland and Prof. Prema-chandra Athukorala, Australian National University, Australia and by Prof. Ranjith Senaratne, Chairman, National Science Foundation.

This landmark publication will be launched on 30th July 2021 at 3:00 pm at the BMICH under the distinguished patronage of Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Education and Prof. Channa Jayasumana, State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals. Prof. Malik Peiris, a world-renowned virologist, at the University of Hong Kong, will speak on “Reflections on a Post-pandemic Future” and Dr. Dushni Weerakoon, Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies, on “Recovering from COVID-19: The Economic Imperatives”.

The volume consists of nine sections, i.e. six themes, namely Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Economy, Environment (Natural and Built), Resilience and Society and Education and three cross-cutting themes, namely Governance, Supply Chain, and Research and Inventions. Each section has an Introduction which provides a brief overview of the relevance and scope of the papers, their salient points, the gaps in our current knowledge and the areas for future research. The papers in this publication, i.e. Volume 1, have mainly focused on the management and impact of COVID-19 in relation to the first wave and it is intended to produce more volumes in the future.

Health experts from around the world have been using Sri Lanka’s healthcare system as a case study model since the 1980s. During the first wave, high testing rates and mobility restrictions coupled with the established surveillance and primary health- care network in Sri Lanka kept COVID-19 mortality at bay in comparison with more advanced healthcare systems in the world. Therefore, this landmark volume will be valuable not only to Sri Lanka, but also to the rest of the world for coping with and mitigating such pandemics in the future.

This book is published by the NSF under the Creative Commons license that enables the free distribution of soft copies of an otherwise copyrighted “work” and hard copies of the volume will be available as an NSF publication.

Prof. Ranjith Senaratne

Chairman, National Science Foundation