This is my first visit to the Philippines, although I have visited virtually a number of times. It is wonderful to be here learning from the Filipino people and seeing this beautiful country. Salamat.
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| Manila skyline and parks |
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| Manila sunset |
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| Kulintang: a traditional Filipino instrument typically with eight bronze gongs |
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| Manila traffic |
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| University students' results on posters |
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| San Augustin |
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| Pasig River |
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| Fort Santiago |
This week at the 74th meeting of the WHO Regional Committee Meeting (RCM74) for the Western Pacific, States Parties discussed and voted on the Draft Regional Action Framework Communication for Health (C4H). C4H was established in 2019 as a technical programme supporting Member States in the Region.
WHO (2023) Regional Action Framework on Communication for Health: A vision for using communication to improve public health in the Western Pacific Region (WPR/RC74/7 page 7 ANNEX) https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/regional-committee/session-74/wpr-rc74-agenda-13-communication-for-health-annex.pdf?sfvrsn=47febfd6_1C4H was introduced by Ms Olivia Lawe-Davies, Communications Manager and acting Executive Officer, Regional Director’s Office, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.
"C4H refers to a set of principles and practices that help to ensure communications are designed to inform and change attitudes and behaviours in ways that can support the achievement of defined public health outcomes at the individual, community and societal levels." (WHO, 2023, p. 6)
Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Acting Regional Director for the Western Pacific stated in April 2023 “C4H recognizes that health communication can play a vital role alongside other public health interventions to extend lives and improve public health outcomes at individual, community and societal levels.” (WHO, 2023, p. 7).
"C4H is based on six principles: informed by data and theory; measurable; planned; audience- and peoplecentred; collaborative; and targeted. Application of the C4H approach requires a series of steps to first understand, then plan, develop, test and implement a communication programme or campaign, before evaluating and identifying lessons." WPR/RC74/7 page 11
The following C4H video was played: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdamEZj9I_w&list=PLA7dYQkD0Btrdj8ajTfUJYJ3xW0vrqWD1&index=1
During this week I have had conversations with many people to discuss C4H, the health workforce, the importance of communication for all, and how speech-language pathologists and other communication professionals can support WHO's committment to C4H for ALL including:
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| Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, incoming Regional Director |
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| Sharynne McLeod with Eloise Adsett and Anna Biernat, Communications Officer, WHO |
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| Discussing C4H with colleagues from Hawai'i, Mariana Islands and Guam |
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| Ms Carrie Laurenson and Ms Eseese Sina Georgina Fa-aiuga, Samoa |
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| Dr Jackie Leung Ching-kan, Hong Kong China |
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| Dr Revite Kirition, Director General of Health, Kiribati |
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| Dr Angela Pratt, WHO Representative Office, Viet Nam |
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| Ms Fleur Davies, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government |
In my submitted intervention on behalf of the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP), I commend the WHO
Regional Committee for the Western Pacific for the C4H initiative and
the Disability-inclusive health services toolkit: A resource for health facilities in the Western Pacific Region https://www.who.int/westernpacific/publications-detail/9789290618928.
I commended WHO for including communication disability, "People Who
Have Trouble Speaking" (p. 67) AND "People With Hearing Impairment" (p.
64) in the section on "Practical strategies for communicating inclusive
health information" and also offered recommendations for expanding
understanding about communication disability and strategies for
communicating inclusive health information based on the following work
we have undertaken. The intervention profiles the work published in our
two special issues of the International Journal of Speech-Language
Pathology addressing the United Nations' agendas:
I also shared the work of our Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group to listen to children:
I am visiting the WHO Western Pacific Office in Manila, Philippines this week. https://www.who.int/westernpacific. Here are some photos of this important location.
Each day during the week-long Regional Committee Meeting there was a Movement Break, where everyone followed the dance moves of the WPRO dance team!
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| Daily dance moves at WHO's WPRO (Western Pacific Regional Office) in Manila |
Attending the 74th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (#RCM74) in Manila, Philippines has been such a fantastic time of learning, networking and fun https://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/governance/regional-committee/session-74.
There was a focus on celebrating the health workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic during the dinner.
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| WHO Dinner at The Manila Hotel |
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| Meeting Mr Blaire Exell, Deputy Secretary Health Strategy, First Nations and Sport, Australian Government |
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| Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General) |
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| The Scrub Choir (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR-JXFbHMPU) One of the many items during the WHO Dinner |
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| Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab (Acting Regional Director) with Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General) |
I am honoured to represent the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP) at the seventy-fourth session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (#RCM74), 16 to 20 October 2023 in Manila, Philippines https://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/governance/regional-committee/session-74.
RCM74 agenda items include:
Congratulations to Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, proposed by Tonga, who has been nominated as the next
@WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific for the next 5 years.
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| I met Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, the new WHO Regional Director and discussed Tonga and the role of speech-language pathologists throughout the Western Pacific |
While at the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group Retreat, Belinda Downey learned the news of her successful PhD outcome. She has been approved for graduation - after receiving outstanding examiners' reports. Congratulations Belinda from your very proud PhD supervisory team.
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| Belinda with her supervisors A/Prof Will Letts, Dr Leanne Gibbs and Prof Sharynne McLeod |
Belinda Downey's PhD is now available online. It is titled: Staying in Early Childhood: Struggle, Hope and Connection. Here is the link: https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/staying-in-early-childhood-struggle-hope-and-connection
Congratulations Belinda.Belinda also will co-chair the Early Childhood Voices 2024 conference with me - so there was another reason to celebrate.
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| Dr Belinda Downey, Dr Carolyn Gregoric, Prof Sharynne McLeod |
Our ECIR research retreat was a wonderful time of building bonds, collaborative conversations and robust interdisciplinary discussions. Members travelled to Bathurst + joined online. What a wonderful time together celebrating our achievements, learning together, planning our grant writing and ECV2024 for 2024. Thank you to Dr Carolyn Gregoric for her amazing organisational skills, Holly McAlister and Belinda Freizer for making us think about how to listen to children, to the Research Office (Dr Emmaline Lear, Dr Lisa Limbrick, Dr Dale) for your excellent workshops and FOAE Admin team for joining us to begin planing ECV2024.
Belinda Downey's PhD is now available online. It is titled: Staying in Early Childhood: Struggle, Hope and Connection
Here is the link: https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/staying-in-early-childhood-struggle-hope-and-connection
Congratulations Belinda.
I am so proud to see that this chapter has been published. What an honour to write it with Jessica.
McLeod, S., & McLeod, J. (2023). Communication rights moderated through hierarchies of disability and childhood. In S. Meyers, M. McCloskey, G. Petri (Eds.). The Routledge international handbook of disability human rights hierarchies. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003410089
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Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” (United Nations, 1948) and Article 2 says that the right to communication should occur “without distinction of . . . language.” These powerful statements underscore that all people have the right to communicate. This right, however, is often not met for children with communication disabilities whose families do not speak the dominant language of the community. Case studies from Australia, Fiji, Iceland, and Vietnam help elaborate hierarchies of disability human rights relating to communication.
Here is the direct link to our chapter:
Charles Sturt University interviewed a number of researchers for their Research Futures Showcase. Here is the resulting video. I start at 5:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joK0h40Z6bY
Research Futures is a series of video interviews with Charles Sturt’s Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and senior academics by Virginia Haussegger AM, an award-winning television journalist, writer and commentator. Research is, and will always be, vital to Charles Sturt’s social purpose – to generate world class applied research to help foster prosperous communities across New South Wales. Charles Sturt aims to be the leading regional university known for solving real-world problems and enhancing the quality of life of regional Australians. The Research Futures Showcase is a tightly woven showcase of vignettes taken from interviews conducted by Virginia where researchers discuss their big research ideas, how they challenge orthodoxy and what research outcomes will or have been achieved. Research Futures shows the breadth and importance of research being conducted at Charles Sturt.
Congratulations to Sarah Faulks who has completed her honours thesis titled: Multilingual language assessment for Vietnamese-Australian children
Her thesis has been supervised by A/Prof Sarah Verdon, myself, and Dr Van Tran.
We had a online submission party yesterday.
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| Sarah's online honours celebration |
On 17th October, Sarah will present her Honours thesis in order to conclude the requirements for her degree. Congratulations Sarah. It has been a pleasure to be on your supervisory team.
This week Prof Julie Marshall presented a keynote address at the XXXIII Congreso Internacional AELFA-IF Santander, Spain describing our work on Communication, Swallowing and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on our special issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology published earlier this year.
