NAST PHL to Conduct the 43rd Annual Scientific Meeting with the Theme "Covid-19 Pandemic: Learning from the Past, Coping with the Present, Moving to the Next"
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On July 12-15, 2021, the National Academy of the Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) will conduct the 43rd Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) with the theme "COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from the Past, Coping with the Present, Moving to the Next.". The Health Sciences Division, chaired by Academician (Acd.) Jaime C. Montoya will be hosting the 43rd ASM. This is the second ASM to be conducted virtually due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 43rd ASM will serve as a forum for sharing of best practices on coping with and addressing the Covid19 pandemic as well as discussing the existing gaps and problems in the country’s health care delivery and health infrastructure, which were further aggravated by the global pandemic. Impacting on all sectors of society and national development, it has become imperative that we learn from these experiences during this crisis and institute all of the needed health reforms and improvements to make our health and social systems more resilient and responsive to emergent and emerging health crises. Another pandemic like COVID-19 is inevitable in the future so we have to learn from what we have done in the past, assess where we are and address the current gaps, and problems to be better prepared for such an occurrence in the future.
NAST PHL in Partnership with Towns Foundation Inc. Launches Webinar Series on Climate Change
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The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), in partnership with The Outstanding Women in Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Foundation, Inc., conducted the first installment of the webinar series on climate change entitled “Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change on Food Security and Nutrition, and Health” on 21 May 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Climate Change and Health
Dr. Carlos Primero D. Gundran, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Manila, discussed the relationship between climate change and health. Dr. Gundran reiterated the importance of reducing greenhouse gases by planting trees and maintaining a low-carbon footprint lifestyle, preventing the transmission of diseases by adhering to good hygiene practices, and lastly, improving household sanitation and proper waste management system.
Dr. Esperanza I. Cabral, chair of the National Implementation Team for Reproductive Health Law, Department of Health, appeals to health leaders to develop a more global vision of environmental health. She said that “the planet is our patient too” and that the health sector must bond together to address the climate crisis to protect the people.
NAST PHL partners with ACDP, UP Manila to advance substance use policy and research in virtual forum
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On June 15, 2021, the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), together with the Asian Center for Drug Policy (ACDP) and the University of the Philippines Manila, will be hosting the very first National Substance Use Science Policy and Information Forum with the theme “Substance Use in the Philippines: Governance, Research, and Practice.”
The national forum aims to present existing evidence on health-centered effective strategies and interventions while employing human rights-based approaches and facilitate the inputs of various scientific disciplines in creating a five-year research agenda. Evidence-based policy recommendations for national and local policymakers will also be presented during the forum.
After the launch of the country’s “war on drugs” in 2016, there have been calls for reform to address critical institutional gaps and harmonize policies. Various groups and stakeholders have also begun acting independently and implemented their own programs and/or conducted research. Likewise, new modalities of community-based rehabilitation programs were also implemented throughout the country. As a result of these multiple streams of independent activities, the ecosystem responding to the substance use problem has become fragmented.