Asst. Prof. Dr. Phudit Tejativaddhana, M.D., Director of the ASEAN Institute for Health Development (AIHD), Mahidol University, welcomed Assoc. Prof. Kitikorn Charmondusit, Ph.D., Mahidol University’s Vice President for Environment and Sustainable Development and his colleagues to AIHD on 8 September 2020 at Krasae Chanawongse Conference room.
Prof. Kitikorn Charmondusit has visited AIHD’s Sustainability Development Goals working section and has followed on AIHD’s efforts in driving SDGs achievements. He and the AIHD management team have also shared experiences in ensuring that the tasks on hand are aligned for SDGs achievement.
Along with the AIHD Director, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nantawat Sitdhiraksa, M.D. Deputy Director for Academic Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sakda Arj-ong Vallipakorn, M.D., Assistant Director for Research and Innovation, Ms. Nuannoi Boonchusong, AIHD’s Executive Secretary, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cheerawit Rattanapan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thunwadee Suksaroj, and the AIHD staff have also joined to welcome AIHD’s honored guests from the MU SDGs.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Phudit Tejativaddhana has presented the overall AIHD operations, particularly, AIHD’s visions, which is specifically set up towards becoming a globally recognized academic institution of global health, health policy, and health development that are based on the principles of primary health primed towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (#SDGs). Moreover, AIHD has integrated the concept of sustainable development in implementing its mission, vision, and all its related working processes.
AIHD’s educational mission is focused on producing quality graduates at the graduate level to become capable and competent leaders in the field of health management. AIHD has made sure that its graduates are equipped with sufficient knowledge and with high moral standards acquired through a rigorous learning process aimed to develop and affect change for the sustainability of health systems in the graduate programs.
Its research mission is driven on building new and relevant knowledge to develop and build health systems that can respond to the emerging health needs of the current times, regardless of the situation. And more importantly, it is also centered on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals based on the principles of primary health care with an emphasis on policy development and management at the local level that is effectively integrated with the public health. AIHD’s management policy developments use the people-centered concept that puts much weight on the contribution of all sectors and gives importance to empowering people and communities to take care of themselves. It has also included the creation and integration of innovation in health management’s response to health challenges, especially in this rapidly changing environment. AIHD has firmly aimed to sustainably support and become one, if not the best, learning institute for health system management in Thailand, geared up for the achievement of the sustainable development goals, particularly in the ASEAN region.
The academic service mission of AIHD is fixated on empowering and developing healthcare leaders’ networks. These networks could help provide the much-needed health development support for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals based on the concept and strategy of primary health care. Through this strategy, public health problems in the community can be resolved while providing health awareness at the same time, thus making people healthy and able to take care of themselves. AIHD has also advocated in sharing Thailand’s knowledge and experiences in dealing with health issues and challenges and its efforts to achieve the SDGs to other nations, particularly in the ASEAN region, and also learn from others. This exchanging of knowledge and experiences with others, particularly with practitioners and executives in the field of public health, whether national or international, covers both health policy and health development, which may include information about local and global health issues through training, workshops, seminars, national and international academic conferences and study visits to the model area, where sustainable health development is being successfully implemented.
In addition, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cheerawit Rattanapan, President of AIHD SDGs, has also presented AIHD’s overall operations of the Sustainability Development Goals from last year. He highlighted AIHD’s production of research works, programs, trainings, seminars, and activates that involved the 11 goals from the 17 indicators of SDGs. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cheerawit Rattanapan has also presented the website of AIHD SGDs. There were suggestions offered for further improvements to the website.
