HCWH-Asia’s Director Merci Ferrer identified waste management as one of the biggest challenges facing health in mega-cities (From L-R: Dr. Mojgan Sami; Dr. Katrin Engelhardt; Merci Ferrer; Dr. Jamal Deen; Prof. Anjali Borhade)

Last August 23, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH)-Asia participated in the New Leaders for Health Pre-Forum, which is a prelude to the Global Forum on Research and Innovation for Health. Held at the Philippine International Convention Center, the Pre-Forum aimed to provide young emerging health leaders with a platform for networking, capacity-building, and dialogue on critical issues affecting global health today.

HCWH-Asia’s Director, Merci Ferrer, participated in an interactive panel on “The Role of Research and Innovation in Improving Health in Mega-cities.” She was joined by Dr. Katrin Engelhardt of the Western Pacific Regional Office, World Health Organization; Dr. Mojgan Sami of the University of California Irvine; Prof. Anjali Borhade of the Public Health Foundation of India; and Dr. Jamal Deen of the Academy of Science, Royal Society of Canada.

Asked on what she thinks is a priority health issue in mega-cities today, Ms. Ferrer replied: “We need to address the way we manage our waste in cities. I hope our young health researchers here will look into this matter and create effective solutions to protect both human health and the environment in our cities.” 

“We cannot just continue business as usual. If we want to truly advance health in our cities, we have to build un-wasteful cities first,” added Ms. Ferrer. She then showcased HCWH-Asia’s work in improving waste management in hospitals and other health facilities, and invited the young participants to volunteer for HCWH-Asia’s various initiatives.

“Our problems in today’s cities are not technological, but moral,” asserted Dr. Sami. She emphasized that the solutions to many urban challenges such as the handling of waste are already within reach. “As the name of your conference implies, we need new leaders who will work for health and not for disease.”

Dr. Renzo Guinto, HCWH-Asia’s Healthy Energy Initiative Campaigner, presented the latest evidence linking climate change and human health

HCWH-Asia’s Healthy Energy Initiative campaigner Dr. Renzo Guinto, who is also the chair of the Pre-Forum, gave an interactive parallel session entitled “Do No Harm: The Role of Healthcare in Addressing the Climate-Energy Nexus.” In his presentation, he shared about the challenges as well as opportunities for health in an era of global climate change, and urged young health professionals to help in mobilizing the health sector towards climate adaptation and mitigation.

Dr. Jorge Emmanuel gave first-hand account of the challenges he faced in his work on proper waste management in Ebola’s ground zero

Finally, Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, HCWH-Asia’s consultant on medical waste management, also delivered a session entitled “Building Sustainable Healthcare in the Time of Ebola.” He talked about the non-burn technologies he and his team developed for managing infectious waste in Ebola-affected countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. The session became emotional when some participants were moved by Dr. Emmanuel’s personal accounts of poverty and humanitarian crisis in West Africa.

At the end of the Pre-Forum, the delegates endorsed the New Leaders for Health statement which called for, among others, increase in “investments for health research and innovation… devoted to addressing the world’s unmet needs, such as… environmental health protection.”

The highlights of the Pre-Forum can be viewed here. More information about the conference can be read here.