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Assessment Of The Health System

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Assessment of the Health System in the Philippines : an analysis of Out- of- Pocket Expenditure INTRODUCTION The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Commission on Macroeconomics and Health stated that “the wisdom of every culture teaches that health is wealth” (p21). In fact, developing a strong health system has emerged as a priority for many countries. Furthermore, understanding the major components of the health system, and identifying main constraints, are two crucial steps in attaining key health outcomes. This paper discusses the health system of the Philippines using the WHO’s Building Blocks. The Philippines is a group of islands located in Southeast Asia with a total population of 96 million. The Life expectancy of male is 69 and female is 72 years, with significant variations between regions. The leading causes of deaths include communicable diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, and non-communicable diseases like heart conditions. The total expenditure on health per capita is US$ 202 while the gross domestic product (GDP) is US$ 159.3 billion. (Romualdez, 2011). The country’s health reforms have had some success, notably a reduction in maternal and child mortality. Nevertheless, the country continues to register poor health status, and registers significantly high out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures. We examine OPP spending as one of the main health issues in the country. This paper is organized in five major sections. In the first section, we

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