TO PROVIDE evidence-based, nationwide health solutions, the Ateneo Center for Health Evidence, Action and Leadership (A-Heals) was re-established. The announcement was made through a memo released by University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ on December 19, 2013.
A-Heals was reactivated upon the appointment of A-Heals Executive Director Manuel Dayrit, PhD on December 1, 2013. He will assume the position until November 30 of this year.
According to the memo, A-Heals was conceived as a strategic hub that will implement health-related policies to “defeat poverty” as a goal for nation-building.
A-Heals consists of seven Ateneo schools, three from the Loyola Schools (LS) and four from the Professional Schools. These include the following: School of Science and Engineering, School of Social Sciences, John Gokongwei School of Management, Ateneo Graduate School of Business, Ateneo Law School, Ateneo School of Government and Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH).
In an interview with The GUIDON, Dayrit said A-Heals aims to influence public policy, decision-making and the implementation of programs so as to improve the health status of Filipinos.
Villarin said A-Heals was first approved by the Board of Trustees on August 11, 2011. However, not much has been done with regard to the health hub since its creation.
“It was approved about two years ago, but it never really took off. It just took off recently because we have a new dean (Dayrit) who’s really interested in it,” he said.
Villarin hopes that A-Heals can solve the health-related issues of the Philippines. “We’d like to address the insecurities like social health insurance. I think this can be solved… in crafting a set of policies that will bring about greater security,” he said.
A source of expertise
Dayrit envisions A-Heals as a source of expertise in recommending policies and practices for public health.
“A-Heals will contribute specifically through effective public health approaches working with various partners, including the government, private [sector], non-government organizations and international agencies,” he said.
Dayrit also said the typhoon-stricken areas in the Visayas may serve as avenues for a public health intervention from A-Heals, as the health hub may improve the health services available in the area.
According to him, some of A-Heals’ services are the following: Clean water and sanitation programs, disease control programs including epidemic prevention and control and primary care services such as immunization and systems for delivery of medicines.
Villarin said A-Heals can also serve as a tool to improve the health situation at the barangay level.
“I see it (A-Heals) as a catalyst. We’re not actually the one there but our presence in a community will move things, move resources [and] will bridge things from… the mayor [and] the barangay to the community,” he said.
Interdisciplinary hub
Villarin also said that, while A-Heals’ office is found inside ASMPH, it is open to all members of the Ateneo community.
In addition, Dayrit stressed that the health hub demands help from different fields of expertise since it is primarily concerned with public health.
“Public health is not also the exclusive for the doctors… The mayor of a town might not be a health professional but, [as the] mayor, you need to think about the safety and the health of your population,” he said.
Villarin added, “If there is an entrepreneurship angle needed, then you have to get the [School of] Management people on board. If there [are] communications [people] needed in the hub, we might have to get the [School of] Social Sciences involved.”
In terms of services, Dayrit said that the interconnection of different fields in A-Heals differentiates it from other efforts.
In an interview with The GUIDON, Public Health Leadership fellow Mimi Asuncion (BS Bio ‘07) said that A-Heals will prove to be a good avenue for those who wish to enter the public health sector, as it will enable them to improve their skills.
“Even a student who is taking up law… can practice their expertise,” she said.
Meanwhile, Public Health Leadership fellow Ginger Ramirez (BS MAC ‘05) said in an interview with The GUIDON that she believes A-Heals could help people appreciate the interconnection of their roles in the community.
“If we can insert a role in a more systematic, strategic, concrete and deliberate effort, then we can have a bigger impact in public health because not only the doctors are working, but everyone will be contributing,” Ramirez said in mix of English and Filipino.
Public Health Leadership fellows are tasked to conceptualize and organize projects for A-Heals.
As of press time, plans for A-Heals to take part in the rehabilitation of the devastated areas in Visayas are being discussed by its members.
