The Philippines has been experiencing unprecedented economic growth in recent years. This has fueled greater consumption among households, and greater support for the expansion of government entitlements, particularly on health and education. Behind these developments, however, is the fact that...

The study attempts to document the Philippine's experience in health devolution with focus on the Department of Health's efforts to make it work. It also aims to draw lessons and insights that are critical in assessing the country's decentralization policies and also, in informing future...

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly being utilized to meet development goals of many countries and there is much potential for PPPs to help address health inequities and advance universal health care (UHC). In support of these efforts, the paper defines PPPs and their role in the...

Financial protection of patients is considered a key component of health systems, and has been a consistent policy goal of the Department of Health. Of paramount importance in this regard are catastrophic health expenditures, which can severely restrict the access to much-needed services,...

This report is a continuation of the discussion paper of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies entitled "Inequalities in Noncommunicable Diseases in the Philippines". The first technical paper is an analysis of the current status and social determinants of noncommunicable diseases...

The Sin Tax Reform Act (STRA) of 2012 (RA 10351) and its amendments paved the way to revisit excise taxation for sin products, such as tobacco, alcohol, heated tobacco products and vapor products, and sweetened beverages. The ad valorem tax system reform has a two-fold aim: (1) increase revenues...

Understanding the direct and indirect health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is critical in designing a holistic public health response. This study has two objectives. First, we demonstrated the disruption of essential healthcare services using data from selected government facilities....

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have become the major cause of disease burden in the Philippines. In 2019, NCDs accounted for about 70 percent of the 600,000 deaths nationwide; this is projected to increase in the medium to long term. The premature deaths due to NCDs are increasing in a much...

The Philippine national government, through the Department of Health (DOH), has a long tradition of augmenting the supply of healthcare workers in underserved areas. Even with the adoption of the Local Government Code in 1991, which shifts the mandate of DOH from being the sole provider of...

Seven years ago, the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act was signed into law. Its revised implementing rules and regulations was issued in 2017 with its general provisions citing the guiding principles of its implementation, provision and financing of care, public awareness and...