Collaborations

The PCHRD is a partnership-based organization, hence, partnership plays a crucial role in making all the endeavors of the Council a success. National, regional, international partnerships were made stronger through research collaborations, international fora, and involvement in international networks.  

ASEAN-NDI 

The Council is the official host of the ASEAN Network for Drugs, Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Traditional Medicines Innovation (ASEAN-NDI), the regional network approved by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as the first health R& D innovation network under its umbrella. Activities towards the establishment of a regional health innovation network in the ASEAN were initiated to enhance progress in product discovery and development in the region through intraregional collaboration and, to contribute to the implementation of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action (GSPA) on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property approved through the World Health Resolution (WHA61.21).

UK Government – Newton Agham

PCHRD now has ties with the UK Government with the Newton Fund Program partnership, a research collaboration between and among Philippine and UK researchers. UK – Medical Research Council (MRC) and PCHRD approved six research collaborations on surveillance, diagnostics, and characterization of infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV, schistosomiasis, dengue, antimicrobial resistance, and tuberculosis.

Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF)

DOST-PCHRD signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF). DOST-PCHRD and FIF will work together on the following areas of collaboration: 1) Establishment of Philippine Liver Network; 2) Enhancement of the Research Fellowship Program; 3) PhD in Molecular Biomedicine in University of Trieste, with research training from FIF; 4) Sandwich Research Training for the current MD-PhD in Molecular Medicine scholars; 5) Post-doctoral training; and 6) Short-terms training.

In 2021, DOST-PCHRD and the Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF), signed another memorandum of understanding (MOU) with University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) to formalize the parties’ commitment to advance liver research in the Philippines. An offshoot of the existing cooperation, this tripartite partnership will promote joint research efforts and capacity-building initiatives on liver research both for Filipino and Italian researchers. One of the main outputs to be expected is the organization of the Philippine Liver Network composed of Filipino academic and research institutions.

Faculty of Tropical Medicine (FTM), Mahidol University (SEAMEO TROPMED Thailand)

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Faculty of Tropical Medicine (FTM), Mahidol University (SEAMEO TROPMED Thailand). The partnership will carry out scientific and technological cooperation through the development, implementation, and administration of a scholarship program, as well as the promotion of collaboration between other relevant scientific institutions and organizations from the Philippines and Thailand, among others.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)

Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed by DOST-PCHRD, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and University of the Philippines – Manila (UPM), the three institutions will work together on S&T collaborations focusing on priority research areas and various capacity building activities such as research fellowship, scholarship, post-doctoral trainings, research enrichment (sandwich) programs and staff training. The S&T collaborations will focus on research priority areas including genomics, modeling, diagnostics, clinical trials, epidemiology and immunology.

AHEAD-HPSR

The Advancing Health through Evidence Assisted Decisions with Health Policy and Systems Research (AHEAD-HPSR) program is a partnership between the DOST-PCHRD and the Department of Health, formed in response to the need for evidence-informed policies and programs in the health sector.

Aiming to inform the health sector’s policy agenda, create an equitable environment for health policy and systems researchers in the country, and position the Philippines as a contributor to global health systems knowledge; the program carries out various project management, capacity building, and research utilization services through the DOST-PCHRD.

Under the AHEAD-HPSR program, the Council manages the DOH’s grants for research that support the goal of enabling ethical, timely, and high-quality health policy and systems research.

PhilHealth STUDIES

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has been implementing strategies and programs to achieve Universal Health Care (UHC) since its establishment in 1995. In 2014, PhilHealth promulgated the Governing Policy on Research Engagement Guidelines and established the PhilHealth Research Agenda centered on generating knowledge for health policy reforms in pursuit of UHC. To carry out the PhilHealth Research Agenda, the Corporation partnered with DOST-PCHRD in 2015 to implement the PhilHealth STUDIES project, which stands for “Supporting the Thrust for Universal Health Care through Data, Information, and Knowledge Exchange Systems.”

The project is dedicated to advancing evidence-informed reforms in PhilHealth by funding research projects, capacity-building activities, and research dissemination & translation projects. Specifically, it aims to achieve the following:

1. To strengthen the health research system management in PhilHealth through collaborations and partnerships;
2. To effectively and efficiently mobilize/manage resources for research projects and activities;
3. To generate more health research studies to support the implementation of Universal Health Care; and,
4. To increase the capacity for health research knowledge production, use of research studies for policy and program, and research management.