The Covid-19 pandemic, one of the largest health crises of modern times, has triggered a series of economic, social, and environmental repercussions.
Long-term public health implications are anticipated, driven by reduced access to healthcare services, the limited capacity of GCC healthcare systems, and the known prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, some exacerbated by the lockdown.
Healthcare systems’ financial sustainability is at risk from significant reductions in revenue and sizeable financial losses across providers in the GCC. Given these are national emergencies, many GCC providers are required to treat patients irrespective of their insurance eligibility, likely leading to further financial pressure on payers and providers.
While the vaccine rollout has started, difficulties are anticipated in mass vaccination programs. Production and distribution of vaccines might be delayed as manufacturers acquire the necessary approvals to launch. Many countries across the world will compete for their share of doses.
While these challenges are not necessarily new, it is the unique overlay of economic, social, environmental, and health implications in today’s interconnected world that amplify them.
Individually, GCC governmental authorities, private sector entities, and/or civil society organizations (for example, NGOs, schools, universities, religious communities) certainly possess the knowledge and experience to overcome these challenges. However, pooling this knowledge and experience can generate greater impact.
As countries gradually shift their focus to managing the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic – a hallmark of the disaster recovery phase – megacommunities can be an effective approach to actively engage a wide array of stakeholders.
A megacommunity is based on the premise that some challenges are so large that they cannot be addressed by a single sector, but they can be effectively addressed by public, private, and community-based sectors working together. By leveraging an interconnected collaborative network, megacommunities can overcome the daunting challenges of large-scale disasters such as the Covid-19 pandemic. For megacommunities to work, five critical elements need to be present:
The GCC possess the knowledge and experience to overcome the challenges of the pandemic
1. A three-sector flat organisation
To best address the needs of affected populations, the megacommunity will need to involve leaders from the government, private sector (including healthcare providers, Insurers, manufacturers, etc), and the nonprofit sector at all times. More importantly, megacommunities’ intrinsic model of interdependence requires a flat organisation and leadership structure, which is more effective than conventional hierarchical leadership in disaster recovery situations.
2. Overlap of vital interests
For megacommunities to succeed, participants must share a common goal; in this case, a swift recovery from the pandemic. A megacommunity can be a powerful way to translate these shared interests into workable, sustainable actions. The GCC is conducive to this overlap of interests with governments and private organisations eager to address the multiple challenges and re-launch economic activity, and NGOs seeking sustainable impact as demand for their services increases.
3. Convergence
More than an overlap of interests, megacommunity members have to converge towards a clearly articulated mutual action. In the context of Covid-19, megacommunity members will need to focus on addressing challenges such as ensuring financial viability of healthcare providers, maintaining a robust medical supply chain and immunising vulnerable communities.
4. Network Structure
The multi-sector nature of a megacommunity tends to generate a networked environment that complements the efforts of participating members with those of external connections. Members should continuously widen the network, involving as many external connections as possible. For example, they can better understand the needs of local communities by tapping into diverse information sources within the network, for efficiently deploying resources and effective interventions.
5. Adaptability
Unlike typical organisational partnerships, rigidly defined by service level agreements, megacommunities are more adaptable. This enables them to cater to varying needs of local communities across the GCC. Reliance among different members can be shifted, depending on immediate needs, and engage new entrants without establishing authority over them.
Today, GCC HEPR authorities have a unique opportunity to capitalise on the unprecedented engagement of governmental, private sector, and civil society stakeholders to mitigate or even eliminate the pandemic’s impact.
It is also a chance to devise novel and more effective ways of tackling longstanding and new challenges brought forward by Covid-19. The GCC has numerous examples of successful collaborations, consortiums, or workgroups whose mission is to advance and protect the health of the community – take for instance, the recent Abu Dhabi-based “Hope Consortium” that is focused on solving the logistical challenges associated with vaccine supply for the UAE and the world.
The Hope Consortium is focused on solving the logistical challenges associated with vaccine supply for the UAE and the world
However, current health emergency preparedness and response models still do not recognize megacommunities as a stakeholder group, and without official recognition, megacommunities cannot be engaged effectively in disaster response activities.
As a result, to fully realize their potential, it is important for relevant authorities to update existent plans, framework, and concepts of operations to include mechanisms for the formation, integration, and engagement of megacommunities across all four mission areas: Preparation, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery.
Leslie Raimondo is senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton and Samer Abi Chaker is senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, MENA
by Staff Writer
More of this topic
How megacommunities can lead the Gulf’s recovery out of the pandemic
A simpler multi-stakeholder set-up can bolster the recovery of the GCC’s health sector, says Leslie Raimondo and Samer Abi Chaker
Leslie Raimondo, Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton and Samer Abi Chaker, Senior Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, MENA
The Covid-19 pandemic, one of the largest health crises of modern times, has triggered a series of economic, social, and environmental repercussions.
Long-term public health implications are anticipated, driven by reduced access to healthcare services, the limited capacity of GCC healthcare systems, and the known prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, some exacerbated by the lockdown.
Healthcare systems’ financial sustainability is at risk from significant reductions in revenue and sizeable financial losses across providers in the GCC. Given these are national emergencies, many GCC providers are required to treat patients irrespective of their insurance eligibility, likely leading to further financial pressure on payers and providers.
While the vaccine rollout has started, difficulties are anticipated in mass vaccination programs. Production and distribution of vaccines might be delayed as manufacturers acquire the necessary approvals to launch. Many countries across the world will compete for their share of doses.
While these challenges are not necessarily new, it is the unique overlay of economic, social, environmental, and health implications in today’s interconnected world that amplify them.
Individually, GCC governmental authorities, private sector entities, and/or civil society organizations (for example, NGOs, schools, universities, religious communities) certainly possess the knowledge and experience to overcome these challenges. However, pooling this knowledge and experience can generate greater impact.
As countries gradually shift their focus to managing the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic – a hallmark of the disaster recovery phase – megacommunities can be an effective approach to actively engage a wide array of stakeholders.
A megacommunity is based on the premise that some challenges are so large that they cannot be addressed by a single sector, but they can be effectively addressed by public, private, and community-based sectors working together. By leveraging an interconnected collaborative network, megacommunities can overcome the daunting challenges of large-scale disasters such as the Covid-19 pandemic. For megacommunities to work, five critical elements need to be present:
1. A three-sector flat organisation
To best address the needs of affected populations, the megacommunity will need to involve leaders from the government, private sector (including healthcare providers, Insurers, manufacturers, etc), and the nonprofit sector at all times. More importantly, megacommunities’ intrinsic model of interdependence requires a flat organisation and leadership structure, which is more effective than conventional hierarchical leadership in disaster recovery situations.
2. Overlap of vital interests
For megacommunities to succeed, participants must share a common goal; in this case, a swift recovery from the pandemic. A megacommunity can be a powerful way to translate these shared interests into workable, sustainable actions. The GCC is conducive to this overlap of interests with governments and private organisations eager to address the multiple challenges and re-launch economic activity, and NGOs seeking sustainable impact as demand for their services increases.
3. Convergence
More than an overlap of interests, megacommunity members have to converge towards a clearly articulated mutual action. In the context of Covid-19, megacommunity members will need to focus on addressing challenges such as ensuring financial viability of healthcare providers, maintaining a robust medical supply chain and immunising vulnerable communities.
4. Network Structure
The multi-sector nature of a megacommunity tends to generate a networked environment that complements the efforts of participating members with those of external connections. Members should continuously widen the network, involving as many external connections as possible. For example, they can better understand the needs of local communities by tapping into diverse information sources within the network, for efficiently deploying resources and effective interventions.
5. Adaptability
Unlike typical organisational partnerships, rigidly defined by service level agreements, megacommunities are more adaptable. This enables them to cater to varying needs of local communities across the GCC. Reliance among different members can be shifted, depending on immediate needs, and engage new entrants without establishing authority over them.
Today, GCC HEPR authorities have a unique opportunity to capitalise on the unprecedented engagement of governmental, private sector, and civil society stakeholders to mitigate or even eliminate the pandemic’s impact.
It is also a chance to devise novel and more effective ways of tackling longstanding and new challenges brought forward by Covid-19. The GCC has numerous examples of successful collaborations, consortiums, or workgroups whose mission is to advance and protect the health of the community – take for instance, the recent Abu Dhabi-based “Hope Consortium” that is focused on solving the logistical challenges associated with vaccine supply for the UAE and the world.
However, current health emergency preparedness and response models still do not recognize megacommunities as a stakeholder group, and without official recognition, megacommunities cannot be engaged effectively in disaster response activities.
As a result, to fully realize their potential, it is important for relevant authorities to update existent plans, framework, and concepts of operations to include mechanisms for the formation, integration, and engagement of megacommunities across all four mission areas: Preparation, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery.
Leslie Raimondo is senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton and Samer Abi Chaker is senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, MENA
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