Urbanization is rapidly increasing around the world. Data from the United Nations (UN) estimate that by 2050, the world’s population will exceed nine billion, and 67% of which will live in urban areas. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) believes that half of the world’s population live in cities. Sadly, this proportion is irreversibly growing … Continue reading Urban health in the Philippines: a reflection of poverty-related health inequities
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Promote TACM to achieve UHC
More than twenty years after the enactment of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA), the Philippines has not adequately expanded the credibility and integration of traditional, alternative, and complementary medicine (TACM), especially herbal medicine, into the country’s health system. In particular, the ten DOH-approved herbal plants in the Philippines have not received adequate attention … Continue reading Promote TACM to achieve UHC
Sugar taxation: revenue or health?
We have a heavy problem with obesity and taxation isn’t the answer. Obesity is one of the major risk factors for a number of chronic, non-communicable diseases including the top leading causes or morbidity and mortality in the Philippines (i.e. diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases)1,2. In 2016, 22.3% of Filipino adults above the age of … Continue reading Sugar taxation: revenue or health?
Free-rider Problem in the Philippine Health Care System
From an economic perspective, the production of public goods can lead to a market failure. A market fails when the free market economy does not achieve efficient results. Such failure can be attributed to the free-rider problem. A public good has a classic free-rider problem because of its two characteristics: non-excludability and non-rivalry. A good … Continue reading Free-rider Problem in the Philippine Health Care System
Filipino nurse: a global good?
Do we cast Filipino nurses as “global goods” rather than “domestic providers” of health care? Do we implicate them as sources of remittance income rather than for their potential contributions to the local health system? Trade in health services is continuously growing. There are four ways based on the General Agreement on Trade in Services … Continue reading Filipino nurse: a global good?
Thoughts on the lowering of MACR
I cannot seem to understand why there is "clamor" among policy makers to decrease MACR in the Philippines when the global trend is to increase it. I stand with the position of professional and civic groups opposing the proposed measure. First, we need to consider evidence that children below 15 or 12 years old may … Continue reading Thoughts on the lowering of MACR
Pen Point 38
Democracy didn't fail us. Our politics failed us.
The Global Burden of Disease and Some Implications to Health Policy in the Philippines
The Global Burden of Diseases Study (GBD) is a collaborative project of about 500 researchers in 50 countries led by the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). It is the world’s largest systematic, scientific inquiry that quantifies the levels and trends of health loss by determining the prevalence, morbidity and mortality … Continue reading The Global Burden of Disease and Some Implications to Health Policy in the Philippines
Pen Point 37
Trade in health services, especially the migration of healthcare professionals (HCPs), is continuously growing. As such, developing countries such as the Philippines, export healthcare professionals to other countries (mostly developed countries). The liberalization of trade in health services, espoused by the ASEAN Integration, has further promoted this migration of health professionals. Since the “world price” … Continue reading Pen Point 37
War on Drugs or War Against the Poor?
Since Duterte’s inauguration as President of the Philippines in 2016, the country has been bombarded by news about extrajudicial killings and human rights violations. Duterte himself, in a number of speeches, encouraged policemen and his allies to track and kill drug users and pushers. More recently, he has advocated lowering the age of criminal liability … Continue reading War on Drugs or War Against the Poor?
Pens & Needles 