Nutrition and access to medicine for a sustainable universal healthcare

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa delivers his key message at the Manila Bulletin's 2nd Sustainability Focus Session

- By CARLA MORTEL BARICAUA

On its second edition, the Manila Bulletin Sustainability Focus Session gathered industry key officials and experts from the health sector to discuss developments and solutions in the delivery of primary healthcare in the country.

In a video message, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Dr. Teodoro “Ted” J. Herbosa underscored the crucial role of proper nutrition and equitable access to medicine in his keynote address.

Under this year’s theme, "Envisioning the Future of Healthcare,” Secretary Herbosa cited the track record of the health department in fulfillment of its mandate to provide primary health care. From the establishment of the Bureau of Health in the 1940s, with the help of Dr. Jose F. Fabella, the government prioritized health issues concerning tuberculosis, malnutrition, malaria, leprosy, gastrointestinal infections, and high infant mortality rates. Fast forward to 2019, the DOH welcomed the enactment of the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Act which the health secretary described as a “historic shift” to realizing healthcare as a right of every Filipino.