Building Healthy Communities

The Aquino Health Agenda for Achieving Universal Health Care for All Filipinos (AHA-UHC) recognizes that the Philippines has been lagging behind certain commitments towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. In consonance with the Aquino Health Agenda to achieve Universal Health Care (AHA-UHC), the Department of Health (DOH) thru the CHD provides technical assistance to LGUs in implementing local health sector reform revolving around planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of critical interventions in the medium-term through the Province-Wide Investment Plan for Health (PIPH) and annually through the Annual Operational Plan (AOP), including the provision of support in the capacity building of health workers as well as retooling and retraining of the personnel to build up and strengthen their capacities as managers and stewards of health sector reform. There is, however, a gap between the provision of technical assistance to the LGUs and the actual delivery of health services to the constituents vis a vis the health outcomes and results.

Health sector reform has also opened up opportunities as well as challenges in transforming the country's health system bring about better outcomes in the delivery of health services. The Local Government Code of 2001 puts the local government units as the main implementors of health programs and providers of health services in a decentralized setting, under the technical leadership of the Department of Health.

The development and implementation of the province-wide investment plans for health (PIPH) became the venue for national and local government cooperation in jointly determining health priorities, setting targets, identifying investments and formalizing accountability for results. The reform process brings to light the roles of various partners at all levels - from central level to the provinces and barangays. This has elicited response from the DOH Central Office, and the delegation of roles and responsibilities, and distribution of more resources to the Centers for Health Development (CHDs).

This has resulted in increasing demand for technical assistance and technical leadership from CHD. Department Order 2009-0153 designates CHD Regional Directors as overall manager of operations and the Assistance Regional Directors as the regional coordinators of DOH support to the LGU-led health reform implementation, defining CHDs' role as planner, advocate, technical assistance provider, resource mobilizer and evaluator in the context of LGU-led health reform implementation. The DOH Centers for Health Development (CHDs) are likewise tasked to take the lead in organizing and mobilizing all the expertise within the region to support LGU-led implementation of health reforms towards provision of universal health care for all (UHC).