Strengthening local health systems through health leadership and governance interventions

College

College of Liberal Arts

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2018

Publisher

Zuellig Family Foundation

Abstract

This policy brief aims to present the experience and lessons of the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) in improving local health systems through leadership and governance interventions. It also identifies current policy issues and operational gaps on how local government units (LGUs) manage the local health systems. The Foundation has been working to address health issues of the Filipino rural poor. Its intervention is providing health leadership and governance training to transform local chief executives into responsive health leaders. Some legislative recommendations are being proposed to accelerate policy support in making local health systems responsive in addressing inequities. These are the policy recommendations: • Revisit the Local Government Code or Republic Act (RA) 7160, particularly the ‘devolved setup’ on health. This recommendation refers to strengthening the accountability and outlining the specific roles of the local leaders, sustainability measures and regulatory oversight in devolved areas; and increasing or exempting personnel salary cap to meet health workers-to -population ratio. • Revisit the Magna Carta for Public Health Worker’s Act (RA 7305) to reinforce benefits and security provisions that would ensure the safety and protection of health workers, particularly those deployed in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and localities with high violence risks. The only way to have a more universal and uniform implementation of the law is to come up with a national policy with corresponding appropriation from the national treasury. A full review of existing policies, rules and regulations, with the end in view of coming up with revised guidelines on the implementation of RA 7305, must be made a priority.

• Amend the Barangay Health Worker’s Act (RA 7883), particularly the granting of the hazard pay and rationalization of health manpower complement at the barangay level. Considering the huge budgetary requirements, the following are recommended: 1) possible fund subsidy from the Department of Health (DOH) to the barangay health workers (BHW), like the subsidy local agriculture officers get from the Department of Agriculture; 2) rationalize the functions of the BHWs and the barangay nutrition scholars who may have overlapping functions. • Policy support to strengthen the integration of preventive and curative care at the provincial level. This accelerates interventions focusing on the linkage of primary, secondary and tertiary levels of care at the provincial level.

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Disciplines

Public Health

Series Title

Policy brief (Zuelling Family Foundation) ; PB 2018-01

Keywords

Public health administration—Philippines

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