Page 32 - 2017 KA'AKBAY January-June

32 January to June
2017

ASEAN 50th Anniversary Marked with Southeast Asian Health Forum at Harvard University

Harvard University marked the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations with a Conference on “The Future of Health in Southeast Asia” held on 28
April 2017 at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
Over 150 participants attended the conference.

The event, organized by the Harvard Chan ASEAN Student Organization and
the Harvard University Asia Center, featured public health experts and innovators
clustered in several panel discussions.

The Conference aims to bring together Harvard faculty, students, researchers,
and experts to examine the current health situation in Southeast Asia and looking
towards the future health landscape for the region.

The panel topics focused on “Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Southeast
Asia”, “Preparing ASEAN for Emerging Health Challenges”, and “Advancing ASEAN
Health Through Technology and Innovation”.

The resource speakers included: Mr. Soonman Kwon, Chief of the Health Sector

Group- Asian Development Bank (ADB), Prof. Peter Berman of the Harvard School of

Public Health, Ms. Rebecca Black, Senior Associate of CSIS and former Mission Director Consul General Theresa Dizon-De Vega talks
about the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship
for USAID Cambodia, Prof. Mary –Jo Del Vecchio Good of the Harvard Medical School, and the organization’s Health Development
Prof. Jacqueline Babha of the Harvard School of Public Health,Mr. Marc Mitchell, Agenda
Founder and President of D-International and Harvard Public Health Lecturer, and Mr.

Farouk Meralli, Founder and CEO of mClinica,Inc.

The panels were moderated by Prof. Stephane Verguet, Mr. Sandeep Nanwani, and Dr. Katherine Morley.

The Conference was opened by Prof. Michele Williams, Dean of Faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health.
Philippine Consul General Theresa Dizon-De Vega provided an overview of the Philippines ASEAN Chairmanship and the
ASEAN Post 2015 Health Development Agenda (APHDA) while the Keynote Address on the Future of Health in Southeast
Asia was delivered by Mr. Soonman Kwon. The Closing Address on Spirituality and Health for a Renewed ASEAN was given
by Venerable Yong Seng Yeath from the Harvard Divinity School and Secretary-General of the Cambodian Inter-Faith Council.

(Continued from page 31… ASEAN Dialoged Partners..) The information sessions took stock of the challenges,

Consul General Dizon-De successes, and prospects for health issues in ASEAN which was
Vega likewise called on her Korean described in a 2011 Lancet series as a “microcosm of global
and Japanese counterparts health”. The experts also shared their findings on best practices
meeting first with Consul General in public health systems and health care access including
Gheewhan Kim of the Republic of technological innovation through case studies in Cambodia,
Korea and Consul General Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Lao PDR.

Reiichiro Takahashi of Japan. Speaking at the start of the Conference. Consul General

The meeting with Consul De Vega commended the initiative of the Harvard Chan ASEAN
Kim centered on the important Student Organization led by its current President Filipino
doctoral candidate Dr. Ramon Lorenzo Guinto for generating
Philippines and bilateral relations between the further interest in health concerns in the ASEAN region.
Korea, the Philippines’ Chairmanship of

ASEAN during a milestone period in the association’s

history, and an exchange of views on the global trading

environment. The Consuls General likewise agreed to

jointly organize an event to promote people-to-people

exchanges among the Filipino and Korean communities in

New York.

Consul General Reiichiro Takahashi of Japan, (L-R) Dr. Ramon Lorenzo Guinto, Prof Michele Williams, Dean of Faculty of the
having posted previously in the Philippines, welcomed the Harvard School of Public Health
opportunity to discuss the close ties between the Philippines
and Japan. Consul General De Vega spoke of the latest
round of high-level visits of Japanese officials led by Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this year following the historic
visit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the
Philippines.