With the pandemic’s onset, 2020 became a year of transition for the Philippines office. The introduction of quarantines necessitated a move online for nearly all our projects and activities. Nevertheless, our work continued and we were able to complete a number of critical projects, including a study on the country’s readiness for vertical integration of health services for a development lender; a multi-country survey on integrated care for chronic diseases for the Asia-Pacific Observatory; and a Child Protection Forum for the Consuelo Foundation. Offline, we continued work with the TB Reach project, which opened a second clinic in Mandaluyong City to extend the availability of private sector TB care complementing the broader national effort.
2021 has started promisingly. We are continuing work on an evaluation of the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers and a study on trends in bilateral health cooperation for the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. Also in the process of completion is a study appraising health researchers’ use of research-based evidence to influence public health policy for the Global Development Network. Moreover, the local office is now becoming better integrated with ACCESS Health’s wider Southeast Asian initiatives. These include research ascertaining the status of eHealth in the Philippines for multilateral development agencies and technology solution providers. Also, we are working with a pharmaceutical concern to place emphasis on bone health. By engaging in these projects and activities, we aim to expand our capabilities to better meet the requirements of existing and prospective partners.