Bracamonte, Teves Talk on the Health of Marawi
by Prof. Lady Lou Dlonsod
Dr. Nimfa Bracamonte, former Director for Extension, and Dr. Franco G. Teves, Director for Research, led the parallel session on the condition of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of the Marawi Seige during the 11th Philippine National Health Research System Week on August 24-25, 2017 at PICC, Pasay City with the theme “Research and Innovations in Health: Empowering and Transforming Communities”.
Dr. Bracamonte was the lead discussant of the said session of which her presentation was entitled “Marawi Siege Aftermath: Phases and Faces of Internally Displaced Persons’ Psychosocial and Socioeconomic Condition”. Her discussion covered a brief introduction of the Mindanao Problem which led to the rise of different extremist groups in the island and ended with the collective recommendations for the IDPs. Dr. Teves, on the other hand, was one of the panelists in the session who gave insights on the direct health consequences of the armed conflict, best practices on the interventions given, ethical considerations in conducting research in conflict settings and how to mobilize the MSU System and other HEIs in the region to undertake Disaster Risk Reduction-Health Researches. Among the other panel members were DOH-Region X Epidemiologist, Dr. David A. Mendoza, former MSU President, Dr. Ricardo F. De Leon, Dr. Jose Dennis Mancia of Iligan Medical Center College (IMCC) and two professors from MSU-Marawi, Dr. Cynthia Filipinas and Dr. Fema Abamo, MSU Director for Research.
This parallel session was sponsored by the Northern Mindanao Consortium for Health Research and Development (NorMinCoHRD) of which MSU-IIT, DOH-Region X, and IMCC were member institutions. The discussion was well attended by different stakeholders from the both public and private sectors and organizations in the three islands of the country.