Question & AnswerQ&A (LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 949)
The Ministry of Health is charged with the supervision and coordination of all health and health-related activities within the Philippines, and these activities must be integrated with other activities of the national development program.
The focus areas include strengthening primary healthcare services, family planning, nutrition, malaria eradication, schistosomiasis control, cancer control, and tuberculosis eradication.
The Letter directs the Ministry of Health to lower the cost of drugs to improve accessibility and affordability for the Filipino people.
It instructs the rotation and increase of medical service personnel to improve health care delivery, particularly at the community level.
Health development at the community level, particularly in rural areas, is emphasized to improve primary health care delivery and address specific health problems within Filipino communities effectively.
The organization of central level agencies should be redirected and re-oriented to provide efficient and adequate administrative, planning, and other support services by strengthening staff functions, capabilities, and streamlining programs.
The Ministry is instructed to review all projected expenditures, including those funded externally, to ensure financial resources are distributed according to the priorities outlined in the Letter of Instructions.
The Ministry of Health's programs, especially the primary health care system, must be developed in coordination and cooperation with all other ministries and agencies engaged in social, political, and economic development to ensure integrated national development.