Pacific Conference on Resilient Health System Held in Davao City

President Rodrigo Duterte, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, Climate Change Commission Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman, and Presidential Envoy on Global Health Initiatives Dr. Susan Pineda-Mercado and on stage with Department of Health and Department of Foreign Affairs officials during Asia Pacific Healthy Islands Conference 2018 in Davao City. (DFA Mindanao photo)

MANILA 10 August 2018 – Davao City hosted the recently concluded “Asia Pacific Healthy Islands Conference: Networking for Resilient Island Health System,” held at the Marco Polo Hotel from 25 to 27 July 2018.

As part of the event, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) Office of United Nations and International Organizations Office (UNIO), under Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Noralyn Jubaira-Baja, hosted an informal private dinner for the visiting Health Ministers—together with Special Envoy of the President for Global Health Initiatives Dr. Susan Pineda-Mercado—on 26 July 2018.

DFA Mindanao, together with DFA’s UNIO and Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs, provided substantive, protocolar, and technical advice for the team from the Department of Health during the three-day conference.

President Rodrigo Duterte served as the Guest of Honor and delivered the keynote address during the event’s welcome dinner on 25 July 2018.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque lll opened and led the conference in discussing the current realities of Pacific islands including the state of health of their citizens as they relate to the changing climate.

The conference aims to address and explore solutions to climate vulnerability, including more efficient ways of providing medical care to the said countries. It also aimed to promote the Philippines as a medical tourism destination for the participating countries.

The event was a gathering of Health Ministers from seven Pacific Island countries namely Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru Palau, and Tuvalu. 

Experts in the medical field as well as in sustainable structures design, who are committed to advance strategic solutions to the threats of climate change, also took part in the conference. END