Health in the Philippines
Encyclopedia
Health care in the Philippines varies from high class (e.g., St Luke's Medical Center, Quezon City), to non-existent (many rural municipalities). Most of the national burden of health care is taken up by private health providers.
Medical practitioners, nurses, nursing aides, midwives, caregivers, and health administrators, can all train for their profession in the Philippines. However, most cannot practice outside the Philippines without additional formal study and practical training, usually in the country they choose to migrate to.
There is no requirement in the Philippines for causes of death to be medically determined prior to registration of a death, so national statistics as to causes of death in the Philippines cannot be accurately substantiated. In the provinces, especially in places more remote from registries, births and deaths are often not recorded unless some family need arises, such as entry into college. When there is no legal process needed to pass on inheritance, the recording of deaths is viewed as unnecessary by the family.
Large areas of the Philippines do not have daily access to any pharmaceuticals at all.
In 2000 the Philippines
had about 95,000 physicians, or about 1 per 800 people. In 2001 there were about 1,700 hospitals, of which about 40 percent were government run and 60 percent private, with a total of about 85,000 beds, or about one bed per 900 people. The leading causes of morbidity as of 2002 were diarrhea
, bronchitis
, pneumonia
, influenza
, hypertension
, tuberculosis
, heart disease
, malaria
, chickenpox
, and measles
. Cardiovascular diseases account for more than 25 percent of all deaths. According to official estimates, 1,965 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were reported in 2003, of which 636 had developed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Other estimates state that there may have been as many as 9,400 people living with HIV/AIDS in 2001.
Expenditures on health in 2002 totaled about US$2.2 billion, or about 2.9 percent of gross domestic product
(GDP). Government expenditures on health accounted for only about 15 percent of total health expenditures, 30 percent of per capita health expenditures, and about 0.9 percent of all government spending. Per capita health expenditures in 2002 totaled US$28, of which government spending accounted for US$8. Both total and per capita expenditures on health have continued to decline since at least 1990, leading to a decrease in the share of GDP attributable to health expenditures. The main cause of this decline has been the high population growth rate. The government share of total spending on health also has declined steadily, and with more people, there has been less to spend per person from both the government and private sectors.
The proposed National Health Budget for 2010 is P28 billion, about US$597 million, or about 310 pesos (US$7) per person in the Philippines.
Medical practitioners, nurses, nursing aides, midwives, caregivers, and health administrators, can all train for their profession in the Philippines. However, most cannot practice outside the Philippines without additional formal study and practical training, usually in the country they choose to migrate to.
There is no requirement in the Philippines for causes of death to be medically determined prior to registration of a death, so national statistics as to causes of death in the Philippines cannot be accurately substantiated. In the provinces, especially in places more remote from registries, births and deaths are often not recorded unless some family need arises, such as entry into college. When there is no legal process needed to pass on inheritance, the recording of deaths is viewed as unnecessary by the family.
Large areas of the Philippines do not have daily access to any pharmaceuticals at all.
In 2000 the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
had about 95,000 physicians, or about 1 per 800 people. In 2001 there were about 1,700 hospitals, of which about 40 percent were government run and 60 percent private, with a total of about 85,000 beds, or about one bed per 900 people. The leading causes of morbidity as of 2002 were diarrhea
Diarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
, bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
, pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
, tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
, malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, chickenpox
Chickenpox
Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...
, and measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
. Cardiovascular diseases account for more than 25 percent of all deaths. According to official estimates, 1,965 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were reported in 2003, of which 636 had developed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Other estimates state that there may have been as many as 9,400 people living with HIV/AIDS in 2001.
Expenditures on health in 2002 totaled about US$2.2 billion, or about 2.9 percent of gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
(GDP). Government expenditures on health accounted for only about 15 percent of total health expenditures, 30 percent of per capita health expenditures, and about 0.9 percent of all government spending. Per capita health expenditures in 2002 totaled US$28, of which government spending accounted for US$8. Both total and per capita expenditures on health have continued to decline since at least 1990, leading to a decrease in the share of GDP attributable to health expenditures. The main cause of this decline has been the high population growth rate. The government share of total spending on health also has declined steadily, and with more people, there has been less to spend per person from both the government and private sectors.
The proposed National Health Budget for 2010 is P28 billion, about US$597 million, or about 310 pesos (US$7) per person in the Philippines.
See also
- HIV/AIDS in the PhilippinesHIV/AIDS in the Philippines-Prevalence:Officially, the Philippines is a low-HIV-prevalence country, with less than 0.1 percent of the adult population estimated to be HIV-positive. As of September 2008, the Department of Health AIDS Registry in the Philippines reported 3,456 people living with HIV/AIDS - www.plwha.org...
- Medical education in the PhilippinesMedical education in the PhilippinesMedical education in the Philippines is principally offered and developed by accredited and government recognized medical schools in the country.The Philippine medical schools are graduate schools offering the Doctor of Medicine degree. The M.D...
- Water supply and sanitation in the PhilippinesWater supply and sanitation in the PhilippinesIn the Philippines, coverage and quality of water supply and sanitation suffer from low investment rates, many small supply systems, a fragmented sector structure, and increasing pollution of water resources....
- Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines, Inc.Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines, Inc.The Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. is a Philippine private, non-stock, non-profit organization engaged in improving the nutritional status of the Filipino community. The NFP was founded by National Scientist, Dr. Juan Salcedo, Jr....
- National Nutrition Council (Philippines)National Nutrition Council (Philippines)National Nutrition Council , abbreviated as NNC, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Health responsible for creating a conducive policy environment for national and local nutrition planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and surveillance using state-of the...