Welcome to the first Bi-Regional VIDEO conference!

I would like to thank the Taiwan FETP for instigating and inspiring us to have this activity. It speaks of their concern for programs to be able to continue sharing their experiences so that we may learn from each other notwithstanding the abnormal situation we are in.

 

Thanks and gratitude to TEPHINET for guiding us and finding ways to keep us connected. Too, for the unqualified support of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We are so lucky that in this lifetime, we are able to witness the outbreaks of HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Avian flu, MERSCoV, and now this COVID pandemic. We lived them, we breathed them, we tried to understand them so that the next generation will be better able to prevent and control them. Such is our contribution.

It is perfect timing (or fate) that even when we can not travel or socialize the way we used too, the distancing that is imposed on us happened in this day and age of high technology. We can still communicate well and reach out in a blink of an eye, even if we’re separated by thousands of miles. And therefore we can respond.

 

Though we would like to think that we can get it right the first time, it is very possible that we will encounter glitches and inconveniences in the next three days of presentations. We beg for your patience and expect everybody’s understanding. Because we want to share, we want to learn, we want to help.

 

Here’s to a productive conference ahead of us!

Maria Consorcia Lim-Quizon, MD

Executive Director

South Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology Network, Inc.