Evidence for Health

06/05/2026

HealthSystemsRX
"𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥"

Decentralization was meant to empower local health systems. But after three decades of devolution in the Philippines, many local governments find themselves responsible for delivering health outcomes without the resources or systems needed to fully shape them.

As the country moves forward with Universal Health Care, the real challenge goes beyond the question of centralized versus decentralized governance. It is about how to align national stewardship with local leadership so that responsibility, capability, and accountability move together.

Read here: https://jakerdeclaro.substack.com/p/decentralization-and-the-limits-of

04/05/2026

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭!

This new multi-country analysis on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (spanning 186 countries and over 100,000 respondents) offers a sobering reminder: hesitancy is not random, it is structured, multifactorial, and deeply embedded in how people process information and trust systems.

A few insights that stood out:
✅ Misinformation is not peripheral—it is causal. A substantial share of respondents rely on social media for vaccine information, shaping beliefs and behaviors in measurable ways.
✅ Hesitancy is both informational and psychological. Individual traits, perceptions of risk, and lived experiences all play a role—not just access to knowledge.
✅ Education alone is not enough. Concerns about safety, side effects, and long-term impacts persist even among more educated groups.
✅ Context matters. Factors such as gender, stress, and family experiences with COVID-19 significantly influence attitudes toward vaccination.

The implication is clear:
📍 Traditional “information deficit” models of public health communication are insufficient.
📍 If hesitancy is shaped by trust, perception, social norms, and digital ecosystems, then our responses must evolve accordingly:
- Integrating behavioral science into policy design
- Rethinking engagement with digital platforms
- Moving toward more targeted, context-specific communication strategies

For those working on health systems, UHC, or PHC strengthening, this reinforces a broader point: technical solutions alone will not deliver outcomes without aligning with how people actually think, decide, and act.

Grateful to Dr. Truong Van Le and the entire Nagasaki University Tropical Medicine and Global Health Online Research Global Team for this collaboration.

Read full paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264410X26000034?dgcid=coauthor

19/04/2026

𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐚, 𝐋𝐞𝐲𝐭𝐞!

BAYANHEALTH CLINIC is a community-based primary care provider committed to delivering accessible, affordable, and person-centered care. We serve as the first point of contact for individuals and families seeking quality health services, prioritizing prevention, continuity of care, and the overall well-being of the communities we serve.

We are looking for passionate and committed healthcare professionals (full-time/part-time):
✅ With active and valid PRC license
✅ Strong commitment to patient-centered and community-oriented care
✅ Excellent communication and teamwork skills
✅ Experience in primary care is an advantage (but not required)

Apply today and help build healthier communities! 🩺
Send your resume and cover letter to: [email protected].

Application deadline: May 30, 2026.

31/12/2025

"𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧"

As the year draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting less on outputs and more on what this year revealed about systems—and our place within them.

This year reinforced a familiar but uncomfortable truth: progress in health systems is rarely linear. Policies that look sound on paper falter when they collide with entrenched incentives, institutional path dependencies, and political realities. Coverage does not automatically translate to access. Infrastructure does not guarantee care. And reform, when detached from governance and capability, often reproduces the very failures it seeks to fix.

At the same time, this year also offered quiet optimism. I saw local leaders make difficult, evidence-informed decisions despite constraints. I saw frontline workers adapt systems that were never designed with them in mind. I saw how sustained work—often invisible, incremental, and unglamorous—slowly bends systems toward equity.

Through research, policy work, and capacity building, I was reminded that evidence is not just about producing knowledge; it is about timing, translation, and trust. Evidence only matters when it meets institutions where they are—and helps them move, even slightly, toward where they need to be.

As we step into a new year, my hope is not for perfect reforms, but for braver conversations:
– about what is politically convenient versus what is systemically sound.
– about short-term wins versus long-term resilience.
– about designing health systems not just to function, but to endure.

I am grateful for collaborators, colleagues, and partners who continue to do this work seriously and with integrity. Here’s to another year of building, questioning, and staying uncomfortable in the service of better health systems.RX

13/12/2025

UHC is not a health reform. It is a promise—that every person can access the care they need without financial hardship.

But promises need guardians. Local governments, providers, national agencies, and communities must work together to ensure people get real protection—not piecemeal, not optional, and not dependent on luck or geography.

We want...
📍 public spending that reduces out-of-pocket costs
📍 transparent pricing of medicines and diagnostics
📍 guaranteed primary care benefits that work everywhere, not just in model sites
📍 real accountability from national and local health authorities, and a
📍 culture where every Filipino knows and claims their right to health

Unaffordable health costs? We’re sick of it.
This we are demanding better—because every Filipino deserves to live without fear of financial ruin from illness.

02/12/2025

HealthSystemsRX
"𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐇𝐂: 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲"

We have spent more than a decade chasing universal health “coverage” — but did we mistake the map for the territory?

In the Philippines and beyond, UHC has been reduced to counting: insured lives, accredited facilities, expanded packages. But does coverage really guarantee care? It is time to shift the conversation. UHC isn’t about ticking boxes; it’s about building the system’s capability to deliver real, reliable, equitable care. When we shift the lens from coverage to capability, we start measuring what actually matters.

Read here: https://lnkd.in/g6Hvzuvn

23/11/2025

HealthSystemsRX
"𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?"

We keep trying to fix health systems with quick solutions. The sobering truth is that the next big idea won’t save broken systems – whether it’s digital health, financing reform, or integration. Innovations only work when the underlying system is aligned. Let's unpack why real progress begins with systemic thinking, and start strengthening the foundations that make reforms stick.

Read and subscribe here:

Rethinking health systems for impact.

05/11/2025

"𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬"

Last September 23-25, 2025, a "Capacity Strengthening Workshop for CSOs on Social Contracting for TB-HIV Services" marked an important step in advancing civil society’s role in health governance and service delivery. The ongoing implementation of the Universal Health Care in the Philippines creates a critical policy window to institutionalize civil society organization (CSO) participation in service delivery, shaping a more resilient and participatory health system.

Social contracting offers a pathway for the government to formally engage CSOs in financing and delivering essential health services. This approach not only diversifies service delivery models but also strengthens accountability, community participation, and equity, particularly reaching those people who are underserved and marginalized.

The workshop was part of a broader capacity strengthening initiative organized by IDEALS Inc. and the Cullion Foundation, with support from the Philippine Business for Social Progress through The Global Fund. It was facilitated by Vergil de Claro, co-founder and principal of E4H, who shared key concepts of social contracting, unpacked the Philippine policy and financing context that enables this approach, and guided the CSOs in identifying potential funding opportunities under the UHC framework.

The activity aimed to build the readiness of CSOs to navigate contracting processes, compliance, and performance monitoring, while also developing a collective action agenda for sustained CSO engagement with the government. Through interactive discussions and learning sessions, participants explored actionable strategies to sustain CSOs’ role in TB-HIV service delivery—ensuring that civil society remains a vital partner in achieving health for all.

Congratulations to all CSO representatives and partners who continue to champion collaboration, innovation, and shared responsibility in advancing TB and HIV programs in the Philippines.

14/10/2025

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭!

Our latest commentary, “Strengthening Health Financing Research to Advance Universal Health Coverage: Gaps, Opportunities, and Policy Imperatives for the Philippines,” has just been published in Inquiry!

E4H, with co-authors Wanda Calderon Villar and Michille Sabulao from PhilHealth, examines the state of health financing research in the Philippines and explores how it can be leveraged to support equitable, evidence-driven reforms. While policy commitments toward UHC are growing, we note that many decisions continue to be driven by fiscal and political pressures rather than systematic, empirical evidence.

We also discussed persistent challenges, spotlighted ongoing initiatives, and proposed a five-point action agenda moving forward:
- prioritize strategic research areas
- expand capacities for health financing research
- enable transparent and open data sharing
- build stronger links between research and policy
- ensure sustainable and diversified funding for research

Positioning research as a core component of health system governance is essential to advancing financial protection, equity, and effective UHC in the Philippines.

Read the full article here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00469580251381586

14/10/2025

“𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬: 𝐀 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐔𝐇𝐂.”

Last September 18, 2025, we were honored to join the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of PhilHealth STUDIES, a milestone that not only marks a decade of advancing knowledge and driving meaningful health financing reforms, but also demonstrates the vital role of research in shaping policies that bring us closer to Universal Health Care.

We are deeply grateful as well that E4H co-founding member, Vergil de Claro, was recognized as one of the STUDIES Champions. This affirms the importance of collective work in bridging research, policy, and practice.

Congratulations to PhilHealth STUDIES on this remarkable achievement! We look forward to many more years of collaboration and evidence generation to advance equitable and sustainable health financing for all Filipinos.