Often in emergencies – natural or man-made – it is a long and hard task to identify and manage the dead. Better coordination and exchange of information between relevant stakeholders can help in achieving this more effectively. Recently, experts from the South Asia region and beyond got together in Nepal to discuss policy development and implementation on management of the dead after emergencies. This included public health professionals, disaster response experts, representatives of the police services, the national Red Cross societies and ministry officials from nine countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Here is a glimpse of the discussions held over the three-day conference in Kathmandu in November 2017.