Manila (9 July) -- The Philippines will host the first-ever ASEAN Conference on Nutrition Surveillance from 14-18 July 2008 at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City.

The Conference will be attended by representatives from the 10 ASEAN Member States, namely, Brunei Darrusalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the Philippines.

The Conference will be a forum for the ASEAN member states to share their expertise, experiences and best practices on nutrition surveillance.

An output of the Conference will be a plan to establish an ASEAN Nutrition Surveillance System which will facilitate the collection, monitoring and dissemination of key nutrition indicators in the ASEAN Region.

During the Conference, ASEAN Member States will present their respective nutrition surveillance system and agree on a harmonized nutrition surveillance system for adoption in the ASEAN Region.

The Philippine Delegation will be headed by Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, who is also the Chair of the National Nutrition Council Governing Board.

Other members of the Philippine delegation include Assistant Secretary Maria-Bernardita T. Flores, Executive Director of the National Nutrition Council, and Dr. Mario Capanzana of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute.