The Philippines

About Health Care Without Harm – Asia

FinalHCWHlogoThe Healthy Energy Initiative in the Philippines is coordinated by Health Care Without Harm – Asia (HCWH-Asia). Based in Manila, HCWH-Asia has working with the country’s health sector since 2003, engaging hospitals, health systems, health professional organizations, and the Department of Health, as well as several UN agencies on issues related to environmental health. HCWH-Asia’s presence in the Philippines for more than a decade has paved the way for major campaigns on environmental responsibility in health care such as Medical Waste and Safer Chemicals and the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH).

Highlights

Since launching in late 2014, the Philippines campaign of the Healthy Energy Initiative has been actively building a network of health sector allies collaborating on research, education, and advocacy for healthy energy. HCWH-Asia has also been working closely with coal-impacted communities and convening dialogues with key stakeholders in the energy and environment sectors.

Highlights to date from 2015 include:

  • Launch of the Paris Platform for Healthy Energy in the Philippines during a forum entitled “The Necessary Alternatives: Balancing Energy, Health and the Climate Challenge” held at the Senate of the Philippines together with health sector organizations and leaders.
  • Participation in a roundtable forum on the intersection of climate change, energy, and public health co-hosted by the British Embassy in Manila and Philippine Department of Health
  • Conduct of a series of seminar-workshops in coal-impacted communities that aimed to raise community awareness and build consensus around the impacts of coal on human health.
  • Partnering with the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) in launching the Power for People” (P4P) campaign for renewable energy transformation in the Philippines.
  • Convening of a roundtable discussion with leaders from the climate, energy, and health sectors in the Philippines to launch a national conversation and develop a common agenda that links climate resilience, sustainable energy, and health equity.
  • Calling on French President Hollande and Philippine President Aquino to consider public health as a central element in climate action, during Hollande’s state visit to the Philippines.
Photo Courtesy Office of Senator Loren Legarda
HCWH, health students and Defend Zambales in front of Masinloc coal
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Learn more in our posts about energy and health issues in the Philippines.

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