The Department of Disease Control (DDC), Ministry of Public Health, Thailand visited the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) to build cooperation under disease control and health policy.
           On January 20, 2020 at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, Belgium - Dr. Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, Director-General of DDC and his colleagues from Thailand visited ITM to strengthen the cooperation between both organizations and promote the collaboration in matters relating to the training of managers in the fields of disease control,  health system and health policy including research development.
          At the end of the visit, both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which they reaffirmed their joint commitment to improve the expertise of Thai health professionals and public health courses. Moreover, the agreement strengthened the collaboration by encouraging Thai researchers to obtain a Ph.D., in which they can conduct their research partly at ITM and partly in a Thai research institution.
          “This cooperation will provide an opportunity for both organizations especially Thailand for the development of a Primary Health Care-inspired health system in Thailand and this will be an overarching step for us to enhance and develop the health collaboration of the two organizations in the long run,” Dr. Suwannachai stated.

---