History of Public Health in the Philippines: Evolution, Challenges & Modern System (2025 Guide)

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gHISTORYgOFgPUBLICgHEALTHgINgTHEgPHILIPPINES




PublicgHealth

• Ecologicalgingperspective,gmulti-gsectoralgingscopegandgcollaborativegingstrategy
• Itgaimsgtogimprovegtheghealthgofgcommunitygthroughgangorganizedg communitygef
fort

HistorygofgPublicgHealthgingthegPhilippinesgbasedgongsocio-politicalgperiods

1. Pre-AmericangOccupationg(upgtog1898)
2. AmericangMilitarygGovernmentg(1898-1907)
3. PhilippinegAssemblyg(1907-1916)
4. ThegJonesgLawg(1916-1936)
5. Theg Commonwealth(1936-1941)
6. Japaneseg Occupationg(1941-1945)
7. PostgWorldgWargIIg(1945-1972)
8. MartialgLawgYearsg(1972-1986)
9. PostgEDSAgRevolutiong(1986gtogpresent)

I. gPRE-AMERICANgOCCUPATION

• PublicghealthgworksgbegangatgthegoldgFranciscangConventgingIntramurosgwhereg
Fr.gJuangClementegputgupgagdispensaryging1577gforgtreatinggindigentsgingManila.
gThisgeventuallygbecamegthegSangJuangdegDiosgHospital
• DuringgSpanishgtime:
1. CreationgofgBoardgofgVaccinatorsgtogpreventgsmallpox
2. CreationgofgBoardgofgHealth
3. ConstructiongofgCarriedogWaterworks
4. FirstgMedicalgSchoolgingthegPhilippinesg–gUST
5. SchoolgofgMidwifery
6. PublicgHealthgLaboratory
7. ForensicgMedicine
• HospitalsgbeforegthegAmericansgcamegtogPhilippines:
1. GeneralgHospitals
a. SangJuangdegDiosgHospital
b. ChinesegGeneralgHospital
c. HospiciogdegSangJosegingCavite
d. CasagdelagCaridadgingCebu
e. EnfermeriagdegSantagCruzgingLaguna
2. ContagiousgHospitals
a. SangLazarogHospital
b. HospitalgdegPalestinagingCamarinesgSur
c. HospitalgdelosgLeprososgingCebu
d. HospitalgdegArgencinagingManilagforgsmallpoxgandgcholera
3. MilitarygHospitals
a. HospitalgMilitargdegManila
b. HospitalgMilitargdegZamboanga




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4. NavalgHospitals
a. HospitalgdelagMariegingCebu
b. HospitalgdegBasilan
5. Otherghospitals/Asylums
a. HospiciogdegSangPascualgBaylongingManila
b. AsylumgofgSt.gVincentgdegPaulgingManilagforgpoorggirls
c. HospitalgofgSangJosegforgorphanedgchildrengandgmentallygill

II. gAMERICANgMILITARYgGOVERNMENT

• Controlgofgepidemicsgsuchgasgcholera,gsmallpoxgandgplague
• Fightg againstgcommunicablegdiseasesgsuchgasgleprosy,gdiarrhea,gmalari
a,gberi-beri
• Projectsgandgactivities:
1. Establishedgaggarbagegcrematory
2. Approvedgthegfirstgsanitarygordinancegandgratgcontrol
3. Amoebicgdysenteryg–
gcausedgbygcontaminatedgwatergandguncleangvegetables,gandgmalariag–
gAnophelesgminismusgflavirotrisgwasgpointedgoutgasgvector
4. Choleragvaccinegwasgfirstgtried
5. Confirmedgthatgplaguegingmangcomesgfromginfectedgrat
6. OpenedgaglepergcolonygingCulion
7. FoundedgthegManilagMedicalgSocietygandgPhilippinegIslandgMedica
lgAssociation
8. OpenedgthegUPgCollegegofgMedicine
9. EstablishedgBureaugofgScience

III. gPHILIPPINEgASSEMBLY

• NewgwaterworksgingManilagwasginauguratedgtogcontrolgcholera
• NursinggstudentsgatgPhilippinegNormalgSchool
• HygienegandgPhysiologygweregincludedgingcurriculumgofgpublicgelementarygschool
• Anti-TBgcampaigngwasgstarted
• PhilippinegTuberculosisgSocietygwasgorganized
• Pasteurgprophylaxisgtreatmentgagainstgrabiesgwasgoffered
• OpeninggofgthegPhilippinegGeneralgHospitalg(PGH)
• Usegofganti-typhoidgvaccinegwasginitiated
• HypochloritegofglimegwasgfirstgusedgforgtreatinggthegwatergsupplygofgManila
• EtiologygofgAmoebicgdysenterygwasgmadegclear
• Drygvaccinegagainstgsmallpoxgwasgfirstgused

IV. gJONESgLAWgYEARS

• Retrogressiongrathergthangprogressiongingsogfargasgtheghealthgwasgconcern
1. IncreasegCDR
2. IncreasegIMR
3. IncreasegMorbidity
• Increasedgdeathsgfromgsmallpox,gcholera,gtyphoid,gmalaria,gberiberigandgTB
• Re-organizationghappenedg(re-
organizedgtheghealthgservicegandgencouragedgeffectivegsupervision




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1. Studygthegcausegandgprevalencegofgtyphoidgfever
2. Theg composition,g valueg andg vitaming distributiong ofg manyg Philippineg food
sgweregstudied
3. Schickgtestgwasgusedgtogdeterminegthegcasesgofgdiphtheria
4. CampaigngagainstgHookwormgwasglaunched
5. Anti-dysenterygvaccinegwasgfirstgtried
6. Thegrolesgofgseafoodgingtransmissiongofgcholeragandgthegpollutiongofgfishing
g sectorgtogtyphoidgweregstudied
7. Firstgtraininggcoursegforgsanitaryginspectorgwasggiven
8. Womengandgchildglaborglawgwasgpassed
9. ThegmechanismgofgtransmissiongofgdenguegfevergthroughgAedesgaegyptigwa
sgstudied
10. ConstructiongofgNovalichesgdam
11. EstablishmentgofgschoolgofgHygienegandgPublicgHealth
12. NationalgResearchgCouncilgofgthegPhilippinesgwasgorganized
13. BSgingEducationgmajorgingHealthgEducationgwasgopenedgingUP
14. PhilippinegPublicgHealthgAssociationg(PPHA)gwasgorganized

V. gTHEgCOMMONWEALTHgPERIOD

• Processgofggaininggandgmaintaininggaltitudeg(becausegtheglatergyearsgundergJon
esgLawgwasgsuccessful)
• Theg epidemiologyg ofg lifeg threateningg diseasesgwasg studiedg –
g diphtheria,g yaws,gdengue
• Researchgingthegfieldgofghealthgwasgpromoted
• UPgSchoolgofgPublicgHealthgwasgestablishedgtogtraingpublicghealthgleaders
• Constructiongofgadditionalgleprosariagandgprovincialghospitals
• ConstructiongofgQuezongInstituteg forgPTBgpatients
• ResearchgandgcontrolgofgTB,gmalaria,gleprosygandgyaws
• DevelopmentgofgMaternalgandgChildgHealthg(MCH)
• 1939,gcreationgofgDepartmentgofgPublicgHealthgandgWelfareg–
gDr.gJosegFabellagasgthegfirstgsecretary
• 1940,gBureaugofgCensusgandgStatisticsgwasgcreatedgtoggathergvitalgstatistics
• Ingspitegofgdevelopmentg:
1. Inequitablegdistributiongofghealthgservicesgremainedgagproblem
2. 80%gofgthosegwhogdiedgweregneverggivengmedicalgattention

VI. gJAPANESEgOCCUPATION

• Duringgthisgtime,gallgpublicghealthgactivitiesgweregpracticallygparalyze

dgTHEgWORLDgWARgII
• Afterg5gyearsgofgJapaneseg occupation,gpublicg healthg triedgtogpickgup
gthegdebrisgandgrisegfromgthegruins
• Survey:g increasedg incidenceg ofg TB,g VD,g malaria,g leprosyg and
gmalnutrition
• Generalgsanitationghasgbeengreducedgtoglevelgenoughgtogconstitutega
gnationalghazard
• USg congressg passedg ang emergencyg measuresg tog controlg disease
s:gTB,gVD,gmalaria,gleprosy,gmalnutrition




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• Immunizationgprogram

VII. gPOSTgWORLDgWARgII

• THEgPHILIPPINEgINDEPENDENCE
1. CompletiongofgagresearchgongDichlorodiphenyltrichlorothanelg(DDT)gs
awgdustgasglarvicidegandgDDTgresidualgsprayinggofghousesgingthegcon
trolgofgmalaria
2. ConstructiongofgthegNationalgChestgCenterg–
gforgcontrolgcasegregistrygforgTB,gmassgimmunizationgwithgBCG
3. Industrialghygieneglaboratory
4. Introductiongofgone-infectiongmethodgforggonorrheagwithgpenicillin
5. CreationgofgcentralgHealthgLaboratorygingthegPhilippines
6. CreationgofgInstitutegofgNutritiongundergBRL,gthengitgwasgtransferredgt
ogNationalgInstitutegofgSciencegandgTechnologygandgwasgrenamedgas
gFoodgandgNutritiongResearchgCenter,gitgwasgagaingrenamedgasgFNR
I
• ManilagwasgselectedgasgHeadquartersgforgthegWHOgWesterngPacificgOffice
• StrengtheninggHealthgandgDentalgservicesgingruralgareas
ThisgisgthrugRHUgprogramg(pergmunicipalitiesgwithg5,000-
10,000gpopulation)
1gMunicipalgHealthgOfficerg(MHO)
g1gPublicgHealthgNurseg(PHN)
1gMidwife
1gSanitarygInspector
• Re-organizationgofgDOHg–gcreationgofgseveralgoffices
1. DentalgHealthgServices
2. MalariagEducationgServices
3. DiseasegIntelligencegCenter
4. FoodgandgDruggAdministration
5. NationalgSchistosomiasisgControlgCommission
6. NationalgNutritiongProgram
• Initiationgofgprogramsgwithgmultilateralgassistance
1. WHOgandgUNICEFgassistedgTBgandgBCGgprograms
2. TBgcontrolgprogramgasgbasicgservicegofgRHU
3. TBgsputumgcasegfindinggbygmicroscopy
4. SerumgandgvaccinegproductiongingAlabang
5. ExpandedgMCHgandgMentalgHealthgProgram
6. TraininggprogramsgforgMidwives
7. StrengthenedggraduateghealthgprogramsgatgthegUP-CPH
• DevelopmentgofgFamilygPlanninggMovement
• Launchingg ofg programsg ing cooperationg withg privateg sectorsg–
g topg providegservicesgtogperipheryg(indigents,gminorityggroups)


• RizalgDevelopmentgProject
1. RestructuringgofgthegDOHgRuralgHealthgCaregDeliverygSystem
2. Eachgbarriogwasgprovidedgwithgmidwife
3. Forgthegfirstgtime,gdenguegvirusgwasgisolatedgfromgtypicalgHgfevergcases




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