The creation of the Institute of Reproductive Health (IRH) was formally approved by the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines System during their 1385th Meeting on November 30, 2023 at UP Los Baños.
The new institute, which will be the 16th office under the supervision and direction of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will serve as a central national research resource on reproductive health that helps in policy-making and legislation, guideline development, training and educational needs, and research agenda setting. Its mission is to address sexual and reproductive health problems through innovative and evidence-based research, training programs, policies, guidelines, and research agenda-setting, and envisions to be a national leader in innovative reproductive health research working to build a nation with people living healthy sexual and reproductive lives by 2028.
The flagship programs of the IRH include the following:
â—Ź Capacity Building on Reproductive Health Research through the training of practitioners in research methodology in obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive health and the use and analyses of existing health databases for decision-making;
â—Ź Clinical Care Research in maternal and fetal medicine, reproductive endocrinology, infectious diseases in OB-GYN, gynecologic oncology, and general services such as research on patient safety; and
â—Ź Policy and Guideline Development for development of clinical practice guidelines, policy studies, and drafting of legislation and the assessment and revision of the research agenda.
The new institute is not to be confused with the private company Institute for Reproductive Health Philippines. #
Martin R. Racza
