The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) will mark its 31^st Anniversary on 18 March 2013, at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Manila with the theme “People at the Center of Health and Health Research.”

Special guests will be Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Mario G. Montejo and Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Enrique T. Ona. Dr. Alberto Rumualdez Jr., former Secretary of Health and PCHRD’s first Executive Director, will be the anniversary keynote speaker.

Highlights of the celebration are panel discussions featuring people’s health and health research in action. The morning session will tackle the broader issues of sharpening the research community’s listening skills in order to come up with research actions addressing peoples’ health needs while the afternoon session will tackle strategies to improve research utilization by increasing research publication productivity and international visibility.

PCHRD, one of five DOST sectoral councils, coordinates and monitors health research activities in the country. Since its founding on March 17, 1982, it has advocated a strong health research culture and mobilized resources to generate knowledge, technologies and innovations and their use in Philippine healthcare.

For more information, please contact Ms. Joana Angostora at 837-7534 or email at events@pchrd.dost.gov.ph.