Linked Network Facilitators chatted with representatives from the Steering Committee to learn more about their experiences working in immunisation, what they are most looking forward to from the network, as well as some fun, personal facts about themselves. This spotlight features Janis Asuncion Bunoan – Macazo, EPI Manager, Philippines.
Welcome to the Linked Immunisation Action Network. What are you most hoping to get out of the network? Which benefits are you most excited to take advantage of and why?
I hope to establish good connections with the National Immunization team of other countries around the world especially those with the same situation as the Philippines so that we can exchange knowledge and experiences in improving the Immunization program. I am most excited to participate in learning forums, virtual and in-person, to share the Philippine experience and also learn from how other countries are achieving their target immunization coverages, vaccine introductions, and addressing vaccine hesitancy.
What experiences are you most excited to bring to the Steering Committee?
I am hopeful that the challenges the Philippines faced and overcame can be a source of knowledge for other countries.
What do you do professionally? How did you get started in your professional line of work?
I am currently the unit head of the National Immunization Program Unit at the Department of Health In the Philippines. I am also a pediatrician by profession.
What is your favorite part of the city you live in?
The Philippines boasts of its warm hospitality, beautiful mountains and beaches, and delicious food.
Janis Asuncion Bunoan – Macazo is a pediatrician, academician, and public health physician with more than 10 years of experience in different areas of the health sector. She currently serves as the unit head of the National Immunization Program Unit at the Department of Health in the Philippines. Her career as a public health physician started in 2010 when she served as a DOH-Doctor-to-the-Barrio in Sal-lapadan, Abra. During that time, she also took her Masters in Public Management, Major in Health Systems Development from the Development Academy of the Philippines. In 2015, She then went on to undergo residency training in Pediatrics at Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center and subsequently earned her Diplomate certification from the Philippine Pediatric Society. In 2021, she rejoined the Department of Health as a Medical Officer in the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau. Currently, she is one of the team members working on Nutrition, Immunization, Oral Health and Community Child Health under the Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Division.