Research Institute for Tropical Medicine

Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
Established 1981 (1981)
Field of research
 Tropical disease
Director Socorro Lupisan
Location Muntinlupa, Philippines
Operating agency
 Department of Health
Website ritm.gov.ph

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) is a health research facility based in Muntinlupa, Philippines.

History

The RITM was formally established on March 25, 1981 through the Philippine Executive Order (EO) 674, authorizing the Philippine Ministry of Health to establish a research facility to implement a basic and applied research program for tropical medicine in the Philippines, pushing both for health advancement and for medical research.[1] Through the efforts of the Government of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided a partial financial grant to the Ministry of Health in order to construct an 80-bed hospital with an Intensive Care Unit and operating rooms.[1]

The institute received some criticism during the Martial Law regime because its research findings were not being released in the Philippines, and were instead only being submitted to JICA to satisfy grant requirements,[1] given that the majority of the patients it served were research patients, while the Philippine health system had an overwhelming need to meet basic health services.[1] Criticism of this and similar funding practices which helped prop up of the Marcos regime eventually became known as the Marukosu giwaku (マルコス疑惑), or "Marcos scandal", once the Marcoses were deposed in 1986.[2] The investigation by the Japanese diet and the resulting reforms brought about the creation of JICA's first ODA Charter in 1992.[3][4]

In 1989, the RITM Center for Training in Tropical Infectious Diseases was established.

Institute functions

The RITM is tasked by the Philippine Department of Health and the Philippine Government to supervise, plan, and successfully implement research programs to prevent and to control prevailing infectious and tropical diseases in the Philippines. This includes researches involving the advancement of vaccines and medications used by medical professionals, such as physicians, nurses and medical technologists, that they utilize whenever patients they handle are under the diagnosis and treatment of infectious and treatable and curable diseases. The institute also trains medical and health workers in order to be further educated in their fields in relation to the management of tropical infectious diseases. Formulation of plans and research projects involving biological products proposed and currently utilized by the Philippine Department of Health are also covered by the functions of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, including the manufacture of biologic products and vaccines.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Manapat, Ricardo. (1991) Some Are Smarter Than Others. Aletheia Press.
  2. ↑ Hirata, K. (2002-08-16). Civil Society in Japan: The Growing Role of NGO’s in Tokyo’s Aid and Development Policy. Springer. ISBN 9780230109162.
  3. ↑ Brown, James D. J.; Kingston, Jeff (2018-01-02). Japan's Foreign Relations in Asia. Routledge. ISBN 9781351678575.
  4. ↑ Tsunekawa, Keiichi (February 2014). "Objectives and Institutions for Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) : Evolution and Challenges". JICA Research Institute Working Papers No.66. No. 66.

Coordinates: 14°24′35″N 121°02′13″E / 14.40985°N 121.03703°E / 14.40985; 121.03703

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.