The program’s objectives include providing training and certification to build the capacity of health leaders at all levels, engaging other units of UP and other academic partners in health leadership and governance training, organizing knowledge-sharing and public engagement, and providing technical support to guide policy directions.
March 3, 2023 — The UP Manila College of Public Health (CPH) together with the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) launched the Program for Health Equity (PHE) and the Dr. Stephen Zuellig Program for Health Leadership and Governance (DSZPHLG) on March 1, 2023 at the Ramon S. Ang Auditorium Henry Sy Sr. Hall College of Medicine.
CPH Dean and SEAMEO TROPMED Philippines Centre Director Fernando B. Garcia, Jr. stated that the funding given by the ZFF is for the construction, development, and maintenance of the Dr. Stephen Zuellig Building that will house state-of-the-art classrooms, office spaces, training and function rooms, and other amenities to help provide a better environment for the faculty, staff, and students. Part of that donation will support the establishment of the two CPH programs.
The PHE seeks to utilize multidisciplinary public health research to provide technical support and capacity-building activities toward reducing health inequities in the Philippines. It will facilitate the conduct of public health research and translate the findings of such research to guide policy-making and program implementation, as well as disseminate these to stakeholders.
The HLGP is a collaboration between the Department of Health (DOH) and the ZFF that aims to strengthen health leadership and governance in municipalities and provinces across the country. The program’s objectives include providing training and certification to build the capacity of health leaders at all levels, engaging other units of UP and other academic partners in health leadership and governance training, organizing knowledge-sharing and public engagement, and providing technical support to guide policy directions.
“The role of health leadership in governance has become more important following the enactment of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law and the need for the integration of curative and preventive care. The support of the program for health equity is likewise important since access to quality health care remains difficult. Through the program, UPCPH will provide research and advocacy on equitable policies for the national government,” said David Zuellig, honorary consul general of the Consulate General of the Philippines in Monaco.
He added that the donation is a continuation of the initiative that started between the ZFF and CPH when then Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona asked the Zuellig Family Foundation in 2014 to scale up its health leadership and governance program. The CPH was among the academic partners that provided training for mayors of priority municipalities in Northern and Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol.
Ernesto P. Garilao, chairman of the Zuellig Family Foundation, stated that the UPM CPH partnership with ZFF in 2014 was training mayors to improve their local health systems. Now the CPH will train governors to transform their fragmented health systems into an integrated provincial health system consistent with the UHC law.
“We need collaborative action among national and local governments, private sector, academic foundations, and local organizations to develop a better implementation capacity which will ensure that the UHC is giving Filipinos, especially the disadvantaged, equitable health,” asserted Garilao.
I Charmaine A. Lingdas
