Australian Ambassador hosts RMIT-Intercare medical mission

Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell yesterday hosted a medical mission that brought chiropractic students from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) together with medical professionals and volunteers from Intercare, to the Hospicio de San Jose in Quiapo, Manila.
 
“This medical mission shows that Philippine-Australian relations are wide-ranging, encompassing development cooperation, trade and investment, and academic partnerships, not just between governments, civil society, trade and academic institutions, but through growing people-to-people links as well,” said Ambassador Tweddell.
 
The medical mission provided free chiropractic evaluation and treatment for patients with musculoskeletal conditions, as well as scoliosis screening and chiropractic adjustment for children.  Some 13 chiropractic students of the RMIT participated in the mission as part of their two-week externship program with Intercare, a leading healthcare and wellness, pain management and sports medical group in the Philippines.  The externship program provides RMIT interns with clinical experience in various environments through off-site medical missions in disadvantaged communities, public schools and the sports community.
 
Hospicio de San Jose, a standing beneficiary of the Australian Embassy’s Direct Aid Program (DAP) where the mission was held today, provides services for the elderly, persons with disabilities, school-aged children, toddlers, and disadvantaged women.
 
Medical missions have also been held in Aurora province, Subic and Taguig City last year, the first year of the RMIT-Intercare externship program.  “This is another example of the way in which our rich, long-standing bilateral relationship continues to both broaden and deepen,” Ambassador Tweddell added.


Press release from the Australian Embassy Public Affairs
Photos courtesy of the Australian Embassy Public Affairs