Drawing from the experience of the Collective Service, this session will show examples of how a collective approach to community engagement coordination can make a difference in the response in communities facing multiple threats and where the same partners respond simultaneously to public health, humanitarian and other emergencies.

The session will share experiences of how social data has contributed (or not) to informing and shaping epidemics response, with focus on the response to COVID-19 and Ebola, emphasizing lessons that can benefit humanitarian responses in the future. In addition, it will discuss how investments in data systems contribute to more effective preparedness programming strengthening of community resilience through better preparation, response, and learning.

The session will provide concrete examples and inspiration for actors across the spectrum of humanitarian and public health crises on the benefits of collective approaches to community engagement and how they can contribute to faster, more accountable and effective responses.

About the Collective Service The Collective Service is a collaborative partnership between UNICEF, WHO, IFRC with support from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), and key stakeholders from the public health and humanitarian sectors. The Collective Service aims to deliver the structures and mechanisms required for a coordinated community-centered approach that is embedded across public health, humanitarian, and development response efforts. This will ensure that expert-driven, collaborative, consistent, and localized community engagement support reach governments and partners involved in the national response to COVID-19.

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