(24 September 2020) — The Department of Health (DOH), represented by the Bureau of International Health Cooperation (BIHC), Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), attended the 5th ASEAN Health Cluster 4 Meeting held through online videoconference.
The meeting was chaired by the Ministry of Health of Viet Nam, and was participated by country coordinators from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the ASEAN Secretariat. The Philippine delegation was headed by Director Marilyn Pagayunan of the Food and Drug Administration. The meeting was also attended by the Enhanced ASEAN Regional Integration Support by the European Union (EU-ARISE Plus) as the AHC4 partner.
During this meeting, the Philippines presented updates on the country commitment on Capacity building on inspection and certification – risk based inspection approach, developing risk based criteria, inspection of GMP and HACCP and sampling. Further, the Philippines also proposed actions for the Work Programme of the ASEAN Health Cluster 4 (2021 – 2025). The Meeting concluded with agreements on the proposed directions for conducting the planning meeting for the development of the next 5-year ASEAN Health Cluster 4 Work Programme on Ensuring Food Safety.
Photo from the Bureau of International Health Cooperation, Department of Health - Philippines