Monash celebrates historic milestone for forensic medicine in the Philippines
Monash University marked another major milestone in its work to strengthen health and wellbeing in the Indo-Pacific when Professor Craig Jeffrey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) and Senior Vice President, joined the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, Her Excellency HK Yu PSM, and the Executive Secretary of the Philippines, Lucas Bersamin, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the first National Institute for Forensic Medicine in the Philippines.
With support from the Australian Government, Monash University will play a critical role in supporting the University of the Philippines to establish the Institute over the next four years, educating a core group of forensic doctors who will be capable of investigating death and violence to international standards.
The foundational cohort will be enrolled remotely in existing Monash post-graduate courses in Forensic Medicine, tailored for local context, with visiting experts flying in to deliver in-country hands-on training in autopsy and other specialised evidence collection practices.
In parallel, Monash will also provide expert advice to the Philippine Government on establishing best-practice judicial processes and assist the University of Philippines in developing their own education program, to carry on long beyond this project.
In addition to training local forensic medicine experts, this joint initiative, co-funded by DFAT, Monash University and Philippine partners, will enable the gathering of information and data on death and injury trends within the Philippines, leading to public health outcomes that will benefit Philippine society for decades to come.
Project lead, Professor Richard Bassed, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, who joined the delegation in Manila, stressed the importance of the Institute to protecting human rights in the Philippines, building trust between the legal and justice systems, and providing a layer of evidence-based protection around the investigation of unlawful and preventable deaths.
“This is not just about criminal justice and autopsies of homicide victims, this really is about public health, for all of the Philippine people,” Professor Bassed said. “Death investigation, injury investigation, working out ways to reduce unnecessary death and injury in the Philippines, from any source – be it homicide, injury, suicide, car accidents or industrial accident – this is what we’re here for. To provide the truth from the deceased person as to what happened when they died, and why.”
Speaking to local media yesterday, Professor Jeffrey emphasised that, as a globally connected institution, Monash University is committed to advancing these relationships, drawing on its global network of campuses and programs to play a central role in addressing the region’s most critical educational, research and innovation needs.
“[this partnership] really exemplifies the kind of collaboration that Monash University, as Australia’s largest and in many ways most international university, is seeking to achieve in the Indo-Pacific region”, Professor Jeffrey said.
“I’m very excited about the National Institute for Forensic Medicine, not only for what it will do for people in the Philippines, but also to see this as a regional hub, that can connect opportunities and link the national ambitions of other neighbouring countries to be a global beacon in the training of doctors and nurses in forensic medicine.”>
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