The Philippines, through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshop on the Development of Herbal Medicine Database in Asia Pacific Region on 28 to 29 June 2016 at Hotel Jen Manila.

The two-day workshop will discuss strategies on establishing a Herbal Medicine Portal in the Asia Pacific region, which was proposed and supported during the 2014 and 2015 APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (APEC-PPSTI) meetings in China and Philippines respectively.

The creation of an internet-based portal of scientifically-validated herbal medicine information hopes to improve access to information on herbal medicine in the Asia Pacific and identify areas of research on herbal medicine which can be a basis for research collaboration.

The Herbal Medicine Database will also help in establishing a network of researchers and information providers working on herbal medicine in Asia Pacific.

The DOST-PCHRD led the documentation and digitization of indigenous health practices in the country through its Drug Discovery and Development program and websites such as the Philippine Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (tkdlph.com) and Health Research and Development Information Network (herdin.ph).

“This internet-based portal of scientifically-validated herbal medicine information will not only promote cooperation between APEC member economies on research and research translation, but will also provide a single entry point to search and access herbal medicine information,” explained Dr. Jaime Montoya, PCHRD Executive Director.

Expected outputs of the workshop include action and sustainability plan on the development of the Portal which will improve reporting and access of scientifically-proven herbal products in Asia Pacific, thus helping the promotion of research and policy partnerships between and among APEC economies.

Delegates from all APEC member economies are welcome to participate in the workshop. For information, please contact Ms. Ma. Violeta Intia and Ms. Mylene Marco at (632) 837-7534 (telephone), (632) 837-2924 (fax), and workshop.herbaldatabase@gmail.com (email).