Health

Health maintenance organisations (HMOs) are becoming an increasingly important part of the health care system in the Philippines, providing insurance plans to help people, particularly those employed in the private sector, to cover health-related costs. Until recently, the industry was subject to only the most cursory of regulation and was the...

Since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in mid-2016, his administration has begun a nationwide crackdown on drug use, which has attracted much condemnation both at home and overseas, largely due to the fact more than 8000 people have died due to extra-judicial killings. Data from the country’s Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) suggests there are...

The biggest fast-food chain in the Philippines is not McDonald’s or Kentucky Fried Chicken, it is Jollibee, a local firm that has made a fortune out of burgers, fried chicken and local favourites covered in sweet sauces. However, this sweet tooth is helping fuel a rise in diseases more often associated with the consumption of processed food...

Given the remarkable strides in improving health outcomes since the 1970s, Filipinos are generally living longer and healthier lives. But despite these advances, the country lags behind many of its neighbours on key health indicators, such as the maternal mortality rate and incidence of tuberculosis, and its health expenditure is considerably...