Health security who

KIMPTON MAA-LAI BANGKOK ACHIEVES HEALTH SECURITY VERIFICATION FROM SHARECARE AND FORBES TRAVEL GUIDE Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok has become Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED™ with Forbes Travel Guide. The comprehensive facility verification helps ensure that guests and travel planners can book with confidence at properties that have appropriate health safety procedures in place. This verification comes with an easily identifiable “seal of approval” – the Sharecare VERIFIED™ with Forbes Travel Guide badge – based on a hotel’s compliance with expert-validated best practices that minimise the risk and impact of COVID-19 and potential future public health events. "As we navigate the new normal together, the pandemic has enabled us to hit the reset button and make sure that we are consistently challenging ourselves to attain new levels of cleanliness in our hotel; first and foremost, with the IHG Clean Promise and now with the luxury affiliation that is Forbes,” said Patrick Both, ... » Learn More about KIMPTON MAA-LAI BANGKOK ACHIEVES HEALTH SECURITY VERIFICATION

Vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 Carlito Galvez Jr. renewed the call for the passage of a law that would modernize the country’s health care system against future pandemics. “We have to dedicate our minds, we are really heading to health sufficiency for the next pandemic. I believe the universal health care that we have promoted and enacted is not enough; we have to work toward the Health Security Act or maybe the DoH (Department of Health) modernization program in order for us to fully bridge the valley of death,” Galvez said. Quezon City Rep. Angelina Tan said such a law was already in the works. “We have already passed a bill called the National Health Security Act. Kindly help us to lobby and push that bill in the Senate, sir,” Tan told Galvez. Tan, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health was referring to the merged version of House Bill 6493 and House Bill 6081 filed by Tan and Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano ... » Learn More about Galvez wants overhaul of PH health care system

“EVERYONE is trying to apply the human rights lens. But unfortunately, on key matters of equity, many communities right now are in the rear-view mirror and not being observed through the lens of equity and human rights,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization health emergencies program. “This pandemic is uneven around the world and uneven in its impact. It has peeled away the bandages from old wounds of our society, and it has also revealed and driven new inequities. We are not doing a good job in ensuring that the basic human rights approaches are being upheld — right to access health and right to personal dignity. In some cases, Covid-19 has been used as a means of denying people their rights. Yes, we have seen great examples of community resilience and people and civil society organizations coming together in solidarity to fight this epidemic. But if we are to give grades on how we are doing in leaving no one behind right now, we get an F,” ... » Learn More about Unless we end inequities, we will fail to achieve Health for All

Job losses, bankruptcies, sickness and fear are just a few of the side-affects felt by the Covid-19 pandemic. For many in Thailand and all over the world, this has a profound impact on the mental health of everyday people. The suicide rate in Thailand has also seen a spike, with 22% more suicides recorded in the first half of 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019. A sharp increase not witnessed since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Even before the pandemic struck, Thailand was on record as having the most suicides of any country in SE Asia. As per WHO data, in 2019 Thailand’s suicide rate was 14.4 per 100k population, compared to a global average of 10.5 per 100k population. Thailand’s tourism industry has been hit the hardest, having made up 12% of the country’s GDP before the international travel bans took their hold. Thailand welcomed 39m tourists in 2019, the outlook for 2021 is looking especially grim, with tourism officials aiming for just 5 million international ... » Learn More about Thailand battling mental health concerns caused by the pandemic

YANGON: Doctors and nurses in central Myanmar rallied in the streets at first light on Sunday, avoiding a confrontation with security forces after another deadly weekend crackdown on anti-coup protesters. The country has been in turmoil since soldiers ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi last month, triggering nationwide protests demanding a return to democracy. Security forces have responded with lethal force, using live rounds along with tear gas and rubber bullets in an effort to bring the demonstrations to heel. The violence failed to deter hundreds of doctors and nurses donning hard hats and brandishing posters of Suu Kyi as they marched through Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and cultural capital. Mandalay has been the scene of some of the worst violence from police and troops since the coup and local media said the rally was staged at dawn to evade security forces. The protests came a day after a local monitoring group confirmed the killing of four ... » Learn More about Health workers protest in Myanmar

190 clinics and hospitals in Bangkok are accused of falsely billing the National Health Security Office, or NHSO, for medical treatment that never happened. Back in July, NHSO filed a complaint against 18 clinics in Bangkok for 72 million baht in fraudulent claims under the government’s “Gold Card” universal healthcare scheme. The NHSO found that clinics and hospitals falsely billed the office for metabolism disease screenings for around 80,000 people. The screenings are covered by the office. Following the investigation, the NHSO terminated its contracts with the 190 clinics and hospitals accused of corruption. The move affects 1.7 million universal healthcare card holders in Bangkok. The NHSO says the office will find at least 500 other clinics to offer the services for care holders and upgrade its service at the same time, allowing patients covered by the Gold Card to go to any of the affiliated clinics in Bangkok, not just the clinic they initially registered with. ... » Learn More about 190 Bangkok clinics and hospitals accused of corruption

On Feb.y 16, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11523, or the “Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Act” (FIST), which seeks to aid banks and other credit-granting financial institutions (FIs) to cushion the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic by allowing them to offload bad loans. Under the FIST Act, covered FIs are allowed to clean up their books by selling or transferring their bad loans or assets to financial strategic transfer corporations (FISTCs). This law is seen as an enhancement of the “Special Vehicle (SPV) Act of 2002” (RA 9182), which was enacted in 2002 to alleviate the impact of the Asian financial crisis. Financial institutions strategic transfer corporations (FISTC) FISTCs shall have the power, among others, to: invest in or acquire non-performing assets (NPAs) of FIs; engage third parties to manage, operate, collect and dispose of the NPAs; in case of non-performing loans (NPLs), to restructure debt, ... » Learn More about Enactment of FIST Act for financial health

The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge to the global community since the 1940s. At that time, following the devastation of two world wars, political leaders came together to forge the multilateral system. The aims were clear: to bring countries together, to dispel the temptations of isolationism and nationalism, and to address the challenges that could only be achieved together in the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, namely peace, prosperity, health and security. Today, we hold the same hope that, as we fight to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic together, we can build a more robust international health architecture that will protect future generations. There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when. Together, we must be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly coordinated fashion. The ... » Learn More about COVID-19 shows why united action is needed for more robust international health architecture

The current pandemic may have introduced unique challenges but it did not stop the corporate foundation of the country’s biggest private-sector electricity company from fulfilling its mission to “spread the light” of hope to communities that need it the most. 1 of 6 At the end of 2020, One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the corporate social responsibility arm of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), helped energize 6,999 homes of low-income families in the Meralco franchise area through its household electrification program, its core advocacy. The program seeks to address the financial, technical, and documentary hurdles that make it challenging for families living in relocation sites and informal settlements to achieve electrification. In the past 10 years, the synergy among OMF, Meralco’s business centers and network sectors, the local government units (LGUs), and the beneficiary communities enabled the program to ... » Learn More about ‘Spreading the light’ amid a health crisis

Positioning Thailand as a regional health security hub. For the past 50 years, The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PReMA) has been promoting health innovations to improve the quality of life of Thais and will continue in the coming years to collaborate with the public and private sectors to bring advancements to Thailand to make the nation a regional health security hub. To underscore its commitment, PReMA hosted a seminar on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, “50 Years of Health Innovations: Partnership for Regional Health Security” to inspire ideas, strengthen collaborative networks, and further support the development of innovative medicines and treatments, raising the bar for Thailand’s health security. H.E. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health, presided over and shared his opening remarks at the ceremony. The seminar provided an opportunity to share information, knowledge, technologies, and innovations among ... » Learn More about PReMA Joins with public-private sectors to promote health innovations