THE VISAYAS State University, World Health Organization, and the Sibog Katawhan Alang sa Paglambo will be partnering for a local project, to asses what factors contribute to a person’s overall health.

Dubbed the “Social Determinants of Health” initiative, the project will be launched in the town of Tolosa, Leyte, a fifth-class municipality in the province.

“WHO defines SDH as the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life,” VSU said on its website.

“These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies, and political systems. The SDH, therefore, has an important influence on directly addressing health inequities—the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries and communities,” it added.

Part of the SDH is assessing food insecurity and income and social protection, which the university can help with as it has been promoting programs to help local farmers in the area.

The Philippines and Laos will be at the forefront of the project, which can be integrated into the SDH of other countries in the future.

VSU will also be an instrument to promote a healthy lifestyle in Tolosa and to help empower communities at a grassroots level.