Faculty of Allied Health Sciences

Department of Public Health

Lessons Learned from Covid-19 Pandemic
By
Rufai Haruna
(221-41-1641)
 Introduction
• COVID-19 presented the most significant
public health challenge in decades globally
• Though the pandemic is by no means over, an
increased understanding of prevention
measures, the availability of effective vaccines,
and promising therapeutic treatments allow
us to reflect on the lessons learned up to this
point.
• Lessons learned during pandemic response
are bright spots in imagining a better future.
 Lessons Learned
Public Health Lessons
-identifying collaborative public-private
partnerships as a major opportunity for
further investigation in the pandemic
-The areas include Human capital, logistics and
data infrastructures
-these areas of focus emerged for
partnerships for the public good to create
value in public health
 Lesson Learned Cont’d
 Telehealth lessons: While there are still
problems for which you need to see a doctor in
person, the pandemic introduced a new urgency
to what had been a gradual switchover to
platforms like Zoom for remote patient visits.
Health related inequities: Racial and ethnic
minority groups especially have had
disproportionately higher rates of hospitalization
for COVID-19 than non-Hispanic white people in
every age group, and many other groups faced
higher levels of risk or stress.
 Lesson Learned Cont’d
We need to take mental health seriously
We have the capacity for resilience: People
have practiced self-care in a multitude of ways
during the pandemic as they were forced to
adjust to new work schedules, change their
gym routines, and cut back on socializing.
Community is essential—and technology is too:
Many of us have become aware of how much
we need other people—many have managed to
maintain their social connections, even if they
had to use technology to keep in touch
 Lesson Learned Cont’d
Government policy matters—but individual
behavior sometimes matters more: This
dynamic played out in a couple of ways,
starting with lockdowns and mask mandates in
early 2020. These were largely effective, but
they depend on how seriously people took the
rules and the ways in which people mixed.
Whether we experience these problems again
will depend on the investments and
institutions we establish now
 Conclusion
Though we continue to grapple with the ever-evolving
stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health public-
private partnerships strengthened and/or newly
formed during the response are a bright spot in
imagining a better future. Embracing lessons learned
from a new partnership model—Partnerships for Public
Purpose—offer opportunities to reinforce and sustain
our public health system now and in the future. The
recent appreciation and responsibility of all sectors,
industries, and communities as agents of public health
must carry far past the pandemic while coming
together to tackle public health challenges from root
causes instead of waiting for a symptomatic crisis.