The Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF)’s primary development strategy – Health Leadership and Governance Program (HLGP) – continues to create change in the country, making local public health systems equitable through improving political and community leadership. Since its pilot implementation in 2009, more than 30 provinces, 23 cities, and 617 municipalities have been involved in the program, and was proven to be effective – seeing improvements on maternal and child health outcomes, as well as in health financing for maternal and child health programs.

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Washington, in partnership with the USC – Office of Population Studies (OPS), is currently conducting a research study entitled the “Dual Cohort Prospective Study of Obesity”, aiming to prospectively follow two cohorts of adults: (1) US-bound Filipino permanent migrants, and (2) Filipino residents living in Metro Manila or Metro Cebu for at least three years. Changes in obesity risk factors, particularly the effects of stress due to migrating in the US, shall be examined and compared between the two cohorts.