PH Medical Delegation Visits Cape Town

Ambassador to South Africa Joseph Gerard B. Angeles (fifth from left), Dr. Leopoldo Vega (third from right), and Philippine Honorary Consul to Cape Town Steven Chaimowitz (rightmost) together with South African Department of Health Officals. (Pretoria PE photo)

PRETORIA 26 November 2019 – The Philippine Medical Delegation, headed by Medical Chief of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) Dr. Leopoldo Vega, attended meetings with the Health Officers of the Western Cape Government on 22 to 25 October 2019. SPMC is the largest public hospital in Mindanao, with a 1,500-bed capacity, over 3,500 personnel, and over 2,400 outpatients per day. 

The Medical Delegation, together with Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Joseph Gerard B. Angeles and Honorary Consul General of the Philippines to Cape Town Steven Chaimowitz, held productive and informative meetings with South African Health Officers to share best practices, especially with reference to HIV-AIDS, which has a growing occurrence in the Philippines. The Medical Delegation and their South African counterparts also shared information on sources of funds, donations, and the need to establish and maintain modern data centers. 

The Medical Delegation also visited the Bishop Lavis Community Day Centre which is a showcase of Primary Health Care for the Western Cape. Dr. Vega said that the meeting with the Primary Health Care facility was important for him because the Philippines will soon embark on mandatory Primary Health Care as a result of universal insurance. 

Meetings were also held with officers of CircumQ, a modern, bloodless circumcision device used as a deterrent to HIV AIDS. CircumQ made a presentation of their product to Dr. Vega and made known their availability to do similar product presentations in the Philippines. END

Philippine Medical Delegation conferring with South African Department of Health Officers, to gain insights and best practices in HIV prevention and control. (Pretoria PE photo)

Bishop Lavis Community Day Centre officials brief the Philippine Medical Delegation regarding their operations in providing primary medical care to South Africans. (Pretoria PE photo)

Dr. Leopoldo Vega sharing Philippines’ best practices in providing primary medical care to the Bishop Lavis Community Day Centre to Health Officers. (Pretoria PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.pretoriape.dfa.gov.ph.