Department of Health (Philippines)
| Kagawaran ng Kalusugan | |
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| Department overview | |
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| Headquarters | San Lazaro Compound, Rizal Avenue, Santa Cruz, Manila 14°36′55.95″N 120°58′54.99″E / 14.6155417°N 120.9819417°E |
| Motto | Promotion of health for the people |
| Annual budget | ₱87.6 Billion (2015) |
| Department executive |
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| Website | www |
The Philippine Department of Health (abbreviated as DOH; Filipino: Kagawaran ng Kalusugan) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for ensuring access to basic public health services by all Filipinos through the provision of quality health care and the regulation of all health services and products. It is the government's over-all technical authority on health. It has its headquarters at the San Lazaro Compound, along Rizal Avenue in Manila.
The department is led by the Secretary of Health, nominated by the President of the Philippines and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of Health is Paulyn Ubial.
On June 23, 1898, the Americans established a military Board of Health with Dr. Frank S. Bourns as president. The purpose of this Board of Health was to care for injured American troops but as the hostilities between Filipinos and Americans waned in 1901, a civilian Board of Health was now deemed appropriate with Dr. L. M. Maus as the first health commissioner.
In the early 1900s, 200,222 lives including 66,000 children were lost; three percent of the population was decimated in the worst epidemic in Philippine health history. In view of this, the Americans organized and erected several institutions, including the Bureau of Governmental Laboratories, which was built in 1901 for medical research and vaccine production.
The Americans, led by Dean Worcester built the UP College of Medicine and Surgery in 1905, with Johns Hopkins University serving as a blueprint, at the time, one of the best medical schools in the world. By 1909, nursing instruction was also begun at the Philippine Normal School. In terms of public health, the Americans improved on the sewer system and provided a safer water supply.
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