23 February 2015 – Philippine Health Assistant Secretary Elmer G. Punzalan showcased some of the Philippines’ programs and initiatives in preventing and controlling diabetes as member of the panel on diabetes at the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) held in Doha on February 17.

Among the programs he cited are Belly Gud for Health, a six-month period of risk assessment/physical activity/nutrition counseling for executives of the Department of Health (DOH) and other volunteer employees to achieve a desirable waist size, and the Pilipinas Go 4 Health, a campaign promoting a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos.

In these examples, Assistant Secretary Punzalan emphasized the importance of a healthy lifestyle in diabetes prevention, as well as the leadership role played by DOH in exemplifying such lifestyle change.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Assistant Secretary Punzalan, together with the other members of the Philippine delegation, met with the Qatari Minister of Public Health Abdullah bin Khalid al Qahtani to discuss the progress of the pending Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in the Field of Health.

Both sides agreed to fast-track the negotiation of the MOU with the aim of signing it at the earliest possible time. Minister Al Qahtani also stressed the need to come up with a concrete project to go with the MOU to ensure its immediate operationalization.

This is the second time that WISH was held since it was launched from December 10 to 11, 2013 by Qatar Foundation. The summit gathered various heads of states, ministers, senior government officials, members of the academe, and influential business leaders from across the world to discuss practical, lasting and innovative solutions to global healthcare challenges. END