NAST PHL in Partnership with Towns Foundation Inc. Launches Webinar Series on Climate Change
The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), in partnership with The Outstanding Women in Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Foundation, Inc., conducted the first installment of the webinar series on climate change entitled “Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change on Food Security and Nutrition, and Health” on 21 May 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Climate Change and Health
Dr. Carlos Primero D. Gundran, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Manila, discussed the relationship between climate change and health. Dr. Gundran reiterated the importance of reducing greenhouse gases by planting trees and maintaining a low-carbon footprint lifestyle, preventing the transmission of diseases by adhering to good hygiene practices, and lastly, improving household sanitation and proper waste management system.
Dr. Esperanza I. Cabral, chair of the National Implementation Team for Reproductive Health Law, Department of Health, appeals to health leaders to develop a more global vision of environmental health. She said that “the planet is our patient too” and that the health sector must bond together to address the climate crisis to protect the people.
NAST PHL partners with ACDP, UP Manila to advance substance use policy and research in virtual forum
On June 15, 2021, the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), together with the Asian Center for Drug Policy (ACDP) and the University of the Philippines Manila, will be hosting the very first National Substance Use Science Policy and Information Forum with the theme “Substance Use in the Philippines: Governance, Research, and Practice.”
The national forum aims to present existing evidence on health-centered effective strategies and interventions while employing human rights-based approaches and facilitate the inputs of various scientific disciplines in creating a five-year research agenda. Evidence-based policy recommendations for national and local policymakers will also be presented during the forum.
After the launch of the country’s “war on drugs” in 2016, there have been calls for reform to address critical institutional gaps and harmonize policies. Various groups and stakeholders have also begun acting independently and implemented their own programs and/or conducted research. Likewise, new modalities of community-based rehabilitation programs were also implemented throughout the country. As a result of these multiple streams of independent activities, the ecosystem responding to the substance use problem has become fragmented.
National Science Academies of the Philippines (NAST) and Malaysia (ASM) host the 2021 ASEAN Foresight Alliance (AFA) Workshop
MANILA, Philippines - The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), in partnership with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), will hold the 2nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foresight Alliance Workshop on 7-9 June 2021 via Zoom.
The creation of the ASEAN Foresight Alliance (AFA) was proposed by Malaysia during the 52nd Meeting of the ASEAN Sub-committee on S&T Infrastructure and Resources Development (SCIRD) on 1 – 3 April 2018 in Puspitek, Indonesia to act as a platform to facilitate evidence-based future planning and assist the ASEAN Member States (AMS) in developing their national policies, strategies, and action plans.
The Manila Workshop/Meeting is a follow up event to the 1st AFA Workshop/Meeting held on 11-13 December 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It aims to initiate the process towards having an ASEAN Vision 2050, discuss the plans and activities of the ASEAN Members, and expand the ASEAN Foresight Alliance network.