UP Manila Chancellor Dr. Carmencita Padilla, CHED-NCR Regional Director Dr. Virginia Akiate, UP CPH Dean and TROPMED Philippines Centre Director Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr., Deans, Department Heads, and representatives of HEI in PH in the second meeting held last 05 August 2021.

The UP College of Public Health (UP CPH), as a teaching and research institution and being designated as the SEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Public Health (TROPMED Philippines), carries the unique responsibility of promoting public health education alongside the higher education institutions (HEI) working in public health in the Philippines.

In keeping with this thrust, the UP CPH organized the second meeting of HEIs last 5 August 2021 that discussed the gaps and challenges affecting public health education as well as proposed actions and the way forward. The event aimed to respond to concerns identified in a preliminary meeting held on 16 February 2021 during the CPH Foundation Anniversary Week.  These concerns were: (1) the poor geographic distribution of course offerings hindering public health training opportunities at the regional level, (2) limited offerings for undergraduate and doctoral programs as compared to masters programs, and (3) the need for governance from the Commission on Higher Education and guidelines from the Professional Regulation Committee.

These concerns were addressed in the August 2021 meeting by highlighting key areas for action:  curriculum synchronization, faculty training sessions, inter-disciplinary research, and capacity building (i.e. in health technology assessment). It was then agreed that the HEIs form an academic network, to be known as the Philippine Academic Consortium for Public Health (PACPH), which is envisioned to harmonize capacity building, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and consensus building across all member HEIs.

With the positive support garnered from the HEI representatives in the last meeting, UP CPH plans to convene the technical working group monthly to solidify plans towards the PACPH launch in February 2022 – coinciding with the 95th Anniversary of UP CPH. Moving forward, UP CPH aims to sustain the momentum and continues to welcome more public health institutions to participate in the proposed consortium.

Ana Margarita Parco

Featured in UP Manila Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 31 (Sept. 2021)