situations such as floods, flash floods, heavy rainfall, extreme heat, extreme wind, and leakage of hazardous chemicals from stationary facilities. It continues to improve the early warning system for events such as heatwaves, extreme wind, or high-danger fire weather conditions. The Environment Ministry has a say in the selection of topics for research relevant to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. On the other hand, issues such as cooperation with developing countries in the area of resilience building and disaster risk reduction, international data and technology exchange, and the building of international early warning and timely response systems are within the remit of the Foreign Ministry. Concluding note This Security Strategy is the result of cooperation among a number of ministries and institutions. The authors applied the whole-of-government approach to the text, which has improved our understanding of the breadth and complexity of security policy. On issuing the Security Strategy, the Government undertakes to continue developing this holistic approach. 128. The State’s core duty is to protect the lives and health of its population not only in pandemic situations. However, the State can never succeed in this unless every one of us cooperates and takes responsibility for himself or herself and for others. The Ministry of Health is the central body of the State responsible for health services, including public health. It builds a resilient health care system prepared to manage great patient loads without compromising on the standards of health care. This involves establishing an early warning system and information flow pathways, preparing for threats with health care impacts, developing procedures for in-country and cross-border transfers of patients, maintaining sufficient stocks of PPE, medical equipment and medicines, developing procedures to increase staff numbers, delivering security for the staff and patients, ensuring cyber security, and other related measures. 129. Our quest for a cohesive and secure society confronts us with diverse challenges such as to eradicate poverty, narrow the social gap, protect vulnerable groups, integrate immigrants, and to make our people feel more secure. This is where the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs comes in, and where the education system must again do its part: namely to introduce citizenship education and media education curricula. Another necessary element is the State’s strategic communication with local government and cultural policies that are combined with policies to bolster our civil society at large. 130. Functioning institutions of the rule of law are the main pillar of a democratic State. Any shift in the balance of the judicial, executive, and legislative powers may lead to a loss of public confidence and destabilization of the democratic system. Accordingly, the State must take effective steps to counteract disinformation because it challenges the principles of the rule of law and democratic institutions and to fight clientelism and corruption because they significantly undermine the State and its institutions 40 41