ASOG, Vital Strategies spearheaded national tobacco control review and planning with CSO partners

Antipolo City, Rizal

The Ateneo School of Government (ASOG), through the Tobacco Control and Governance program of the Ateneo Policy Center (APC), hosted the 2023 Year-End Review and 2024 Strategic Planning for Vital Strategies and its grantees working towards a more robust tobacco control in the Philippines. The three-day activity was held at Mount Purro Nature Reserve in Antipolo, Rizal, from 13 to 15 December 2023.

In attendance were representatives from the Institute for Leadership, Empowerment, and Democracy (iLead), Innovations for Community Health, Metro Manila Development Authority, Smoke-Free Aklan, South-Central Luzon Conference for Seventh-Day Adventists, and Transcending Institutions and Communities, Inc.

The meeting served as a platform for examining the progress and challenges in implementing various initiatives and activities in the past year in curbing tobacco/vape use in the country, highlighting the best approaches and innovations among grantees and the complexities surrounding tobacco control in this era. Areas where intensified efforts are needed were discussed and strategies for sustaining and enhancing tobacco control measures at national and subnational levels. The meeting ended with a strategic planning session for 2024, where all grantees contributed to setting specific goals for the tobacco control community.

This culminating session is crucial in ensuring continued momentum and effectiveness in the fight against tobacco use in the country. Furthermore, the activity is part of ASOG’s contribution to pushing for more robust tobacco prevention and control in the Philippines through evidence-based policy research, health promotions, and training/ capacity-building at the national and sub-national levels.