May 28, 2021 — The UP College of Public Health (UP CPH), also designated as SEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Public Health, received the 2021 This Is Public Health Global Grant Program (TIPH Global) sponsored by the Global Network for Academic Public Health. 

TIPH Global is a one-year grant which aims to increase the visibility of public health in a region outside of the United States. The UP CPH team is led by Dr. Emerito Jose A. Faraon, the head of the College/Regional Centre’s Communications Unit. Dr. Raymond Francis R. Sarmiento, currently a Master of Hospital Administration graduate student and concurrent Director of the UP Manila National Telehealth Center, will be designated as the UP CPH TIPH Global Ambassador.

The project’s goals are: 1) to influence local government leadership and communities to design infodemic management interventions to encourage COVID-19 vaccination and improve supply chain logistics; 2) to counter misinformation and disinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccination; and 3) to evaluate the impact of said interventions after nine months of engagement and implementation. 

UP CPH will collaborate with higher education institutions of public health and local government units in support of the Department of Health to develop a social marketing campaign in support of the COVID-19 vaccination program.

Gabrielle de Ocampo  |  Published in UP Manila Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 27