Globally, city leaders and decision-makers grapple with recovery planning and building back better amidst COVID-19 and future threats of pandemics alongside climate change and other environmental and social pressures. The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Developing Member Countries and cities have been focused on curative systems. 

However, preventative systems, including water, sanitation, housing, and other urban services, remain sectoral. There is need to break the silos for curative and preventative systems and for stakeholders to work together to build healthier cities.

The Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) has developed the “Planning for Healthy Resilient Cities Framework” (PHRCF), building on experiences from UCCRTF-supported projects and ADB interventions, to provide a comprehensive and practical framework for cities to map areas where they could prioritize investments that are more likely to make their cities resilient to future health shocks and stresses. An important question is: “How do we operationalize an integrated approach in cities given limited institutional capacity and resources?”

Robert Guild, chief sector officer at ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC), will deliver the opening remarks, followed by presentations from Patrick Osewe, chief of SDCC’s Health Sector Group, and Susann Roth, SDCC advisor and chief of ADB’s Knowledge Advisory Services Center.

Experts from ADB will also provide reflections on planning for resilient cities and insights and perspectives on breaking down barriers to maximize health outcomes especially for the poor and marginalized vis-à-vis the projects that they are leading. A representative from the World Health Organization will also share key lessons on how urban planning and public health could work together. 

Manoj Sharma, chief of ADB’s  Urban Sector Group, will deliver the closing remarks. 

This webinar is part of a series, titled “Urban Resilience Journeys: Towards More Resilient, Livable Cities,” which aims to accelerate discussions on climate and disaster resilience in urban areas through interactive exchange of learning and perspectives from UCCRTF and wider ADB practice and engagement. This is the first of several webinars to be organized under this series.