UP Mindanao was an awardee at the Department of Health's "Harmonized Health Awards 2023, A Festival of Excellence in Healthcare," held on November 22, 2023, in Davao City.

UPMin was recognized in the Partner in Health category for its "Outstanding contribution as an active partner in epidemiology and surveillance in helping to achieve the goals and targets of the Department of Health."

Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao and UP Mindanao Disease Watch & Analytics (DiWA) representative Mr. Zython Paul Lachica received the award on behalf of UPMin.

Through this award, the DOH recognized UPMin's contribution to their partnership during and after the COVID-19 pandemic period.

UPMin, through the Philippine Genome Center (PGC)-Mindanao, trained Davao and Mindanao medical personnel in SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics for use in COVID-19 testing.

UPMin, also through PGC-Mindanao, helped in the development of COVID-19 testing laboratories in Tagum, Davao de Oro, Davao City, and PNP-XI.

PGC-Mindanao also did genomic surveillance for Region XI and other parts of Mindanao. This served to monitor emerging strains of COVID-19 for the DOH.

Also, the Applied Mathematics teams produced pandemic projections and policy recommendations for the Davao Region as part of the UP Pandemic Response Team.

UPMin's links with the DOH-XI continue to the present through Disease Watch & Analytics, which has developed the DiWA web-based disease surveillance software for the use of the DOH-XI.

UPMin's health-related projects and the PGC-Mindanao, likewise, continue their linkage with DOH through the City Health and City Veterinarian's offices.

These health-related projects address the Sustainable Development Goals #3 Good Health & Well-Being, and #11 Sustainable Cities & Communities.

(Photo courtesy of Mr. Lachica)

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