Western Pacific Region

The WPR Regional Hub is working on the theme ‘Reaching the Unreached’ as part of its current Regional Flagship Initiative

In alignment with the WHO’s strategy for the Western Pacific Region outlined in the “Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019 – 2023”, the IWG Western Pacific Regional Hub will concentrate on the theme of “Reaching the Unreached” to examine the inclusiveness of health systems for underserved communities. In particular, the WPR Regional Hub will examine how health systems can be strengthened to (i) protect vulnerable individuals from health emergencies, (ii) improve human security and (iii) be inclusive to the needs of vulnerable individuals. Specifically, we will focus on the LGBTQ community and labour migrants in the Western Pacific Region as these groups face additional barriers to accessing health protection. To get more involved with the WPR Regional Flagship Initiative, please contact iwghealthsystems@gmail.com.

IWG WPR Regional Leadership

Sarah Guinto | WPR Board Member

Sarah is a nurse by profession currently working in public health to improve health inequities through social determinants of health. She believes that inclusiveness and intersectoral engagements would contribute greatly in addressing the systemic problems in public health and of the society. She’s had 5 years of work experience in national surveys and research in nutrition and participated in the pandemic response through indicator- and evidence-based surveillance and evaluation of NPIs. Currently, she’s finishing her Master of Science in Public Health (Biostatistics) in UP Manila and a Board Member and Regional Leader in the IWG Western Pacific Region.

Kathleen Nicole Uy | WPR Board Member

Nicole is a public health professional with profound experience in the monitoring and evaluation of public health programs and the implementation of private sector engagement or public-private mix strategies for tuberculosis in the Philippines. Her portfolio also expands to health economics, health policy, and implementation science. She’s passionate about making healthcare accessible, affordable, and sustainable through innovation. Nicole is also learning to code with R and Python for her love of working with data and exploring its applications in infectious disease modeling, social protection, and building healthy cities! She’s currently a graduate student at the University of the Philippines Manila College of Public Health under the Master of Arts in Health Policy Studies program. When not in class, Nicole spends her weekends spinning (cycling), traveling, or volunteering at JCI.

Aysha Farwin | WPR Regional Director

Aysha Farwin is a field epidemiologist and a public health practitioner, specifically focusing on migrant and refugee health issues. Currently, Aysha is the Regional Director of the International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening (IWG) for the Western Pacific Region (WPR). She works as a migrant health researcher at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore where she leads the design, implementation and evaluation of socio-behavioural interventions for tackling health inequities among low-wage migrant workers in Singapore. She is also a PhD candidate at the school, studying the interplay of socio-political and ecological determinants on the health and collective well-being of migrants in Singapore and the South-East Asian region. Aysha believes strongly in building equitable and inclusive health systems for everyone and a compassionate society. She actively works with NGOs serving migrant workers in SIngapore to raise awareness of social issues affecting migrant workers and push for greater inclusiveness of migrant workers in the community. Aysha’s passions include pandemic preparedness, health equity and health systems resilience.

Jumana Hashim | WPR Regional Director

Jumana is passionate about using evidence-based strategies to analyze and solve complex behavioural issues at all socio-ecological levels. Her research expertise is focused on translation and implementation science which has allowed her to apply theoretical frameworks into context with real-life challenges. Currently, she is collaborating with the Ministry of Health of Singapore to validate and implement an e-counselling platform using motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy for heart disease prevention. Jumana holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Colby College and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Health Psychology at the National University of Singapore. Her thesis focuses on the development and validation of a risk communication tool to motivate the uptake of preventative behaviour for type 2 diabetes.

Rod Charlie Delos Reyes | WPR Regional Leader

Rod Charlie Delos Reyes is a young licensed occupational therapist based in the Philippines. He believes that an inclusive society is possible within his lifetime, hence he participates and leads many movement towards disability awareness and non-binary acceptance. He is currently finishing his PhD from the University of the Philippines Manila. He is also the Executive Director of a non-profit called Open Arms Organization.

Ghelvin Aguirre | WPR Regional Leader

Foo Chuan De | WPR Regional Leader

Chuan De is a health systems and policy researcher at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. He held positions in the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Yale-NUS, performing mixed-methods research on translational stroke models and teaching pedagogy before completing his Master of Public Health. Chuan De also conducted implementation, monitoring and evaluation work for NGOs in Singapore and the Philippines. He specializes in primary healthcare, patient experience, health financing, universal health coverage, and pandemic preparedness. He has presented at international conferences, conducted peer-reviews in multiple scientific journals and has published as the first author in various high-impact journals such as Lancet, Nature Medicine, BMJ and PLoS Medicine. Chuan is also an associate editor at the Journal of Migration and Health, where he explores the inequities plaguing migrant groups at the global level.