The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that has infected at least 1.2 million people and caused more than 67,000 deaths worldwide. The Philippines has recorded 3,764 confirmed cases and 177 deaths as of April 7, 2020 and has implemented an enhanced Luzon-wide enhanced...

In 2012, the Philippines passed the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act. The law aimed to educate and empower Filipinos to make choices regarding their reproductive health (RH), improve the lives of families, and promote sustainable human development for the nation. Key to...

In low resource settings where it is challenging to obtain accurate weight-for-height Z-scores (e.g., equipment to accurately measure height and weight is not readily available, minimally trained community health workers, etc.), the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) is a simple tool used to...

Given the persistently high under -5 stunting prevalence in the Philippines, it is important to look at how the country has invested in nutrition interventions to inform priorities for future resource mobilization. Measuring and tracking of nutrition financing are not only critical for...

About a third of Filipino children are stunted or chronically malnourished. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the socioeconomic inequalities of stunting in the Philippines. This study has two objectives. First, we discuss the wide range of determinants that explain the large...

We conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of trends and disparities in health service coverage indicators using PhilHealth data on insurance claims, membership, and accredited facilities merged with auxiliary datasets from the Department of Health and Philippine Statistics Authority. The results...

In hospitals, nutrition care is a set of actions that allows for the identification of patient nutritional needs and the provision of care to address those needs. Optimal nutrition for inpatients has a critical role in the prevention and treatment of diseases: It helps boost the body's immune...

In the Philippines, decisionmakers mostly rely on access indicators in measuring health system performance. However, as the country embarks on path-breaking Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reforms, assessing healthcare quality is more important than ever. In this study, we examined the...

Health care providers such as hospitals and primary health care facilities form an integral part of any health system. Providers must have both financial sustainability, such that they are able to continuously deliver health care services without bankruptcy, and sufficient profits to maintain...

The Philippine Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) has been in existence for almost 40 years. It is one of the major programs of the Department of Health (DOH) that aims to provide Filipino children with access to safe and effective vaccines against diseases like measles, diphtheria, tetanus,...