NextGen Day

MANILA — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) opened a new country office in Manila this month as part of a commitment to strengthen and expand its existing cooperation with the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) to advance a wide range of shared health priorities, including increased health security in Asia.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also commemorated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Health and Medical Sciences aimed at increasing collaboration between the two countries on public health emergency preparedness and response, vaccine-preventable and communicable disease prevention and control, and non-communicable disease prevention and control.

“The Covid-19 pandemic serves as a stark reminder of the importance of robust multinational collaborations for global health security. “We are further cementing the long-standing HHS collaboration between our two countries and our work together to achieve a healthier world with the establishment of the US CDC Philippines country office,” HHS Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs Loyce Pace stated in a news release Monday.

Dr. Romel Lacson will be the Philippines’ first Country Director for the CDC. Lacson will administer CDC-supported health programs in conjunction with partners and oversee the agency’s peer-to-peer engagement with the Department of Health to address common health goals.

“Partnership is more important than ever in this new century. We must be willing to work together to overcome obstacles and generate possibilities. “This is why the opening of this office and our collaboration are so critical,” Lacson added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the United States’ public health organization and the principal implementer of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). CDC will also provide DOH with important technical assistance and support services to help the country’s HIV and tuberculosis prevention, treatment, and care initiatives, as well as to halt the twin epidemics, through its new office.

“Partnering on health concerns is not new to our 75-year history of diplomatic relations,” US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava said, “but the opening of a CDC Philippine office and signing this MOU deepen this essential part of our bilateral relationship.” “As this epidemic has demonstrated, nations working together in partnership and transparency to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats is now more critical than ever.”

The Philippines has had the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in Southeast Asia/Pacific in the last four years, with a sevenfold increase in newly confirmed cases from 2010 to 2018.

Because of this rising HIV burden, the Philippines was included in the 2020 PEPFAR Asia area initiative by the Office of the United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy.

The opening of the CDC Philippines Country Office demonstrates the commitment of the CDC and the Department of Health to continue working together to prevent and control diseases, boost public health disaster preparedness and response, and increase health security capabilities.

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