As the pandemic has led to the unprecedented reconfiguring of important international meetings to virtual mode, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network (SEAMEO TROPMED) held its 59th Governing Board Meeting (GBM) virtually on August 27-28, 2020 via Zoom. 

Attended by Governing Board members representing 11 SEAMEO member countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Timor Leste, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines), the meeting convened the Directors of the three SEAMEO TROPMED Centres, among them the UP College of Public Health (CPH), designated as the SEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Public Health, Hospital Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Sengchanh Kounnavong, Director General, Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR.

CPH was represented by Dean and Centre Director Dr. Vicente Y. Belizario Jr., who shared a video presentation of the accomplishments of CPH from July 2019 to June 2020.  The presentation specifically highlighted the Dean and Centre Director’s Five-Point Agenda, which includes the goal to strengthen CPH as a Regional Centre of Excellence in Public Health Academics, Research, and Public Service . Each country then took turns in reporting its achievements and accomplishments for the previous year in line with the SEAMEO TROPMED Network’s mission. 

A symposium was held on the second day that provided the opportunity for member countries to share their response, experiences, and lessons learned in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Jaime Montoya, Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development and representative of the Philippines, shared the Philippines’ COVID -19 response report. 
 

Dr. Victorio B. Molina, Aileen Hong, Dr. Emerito Jose A. Faraon

Published in Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 18 (30 October 2020)