• Who We Are
  • What We Do
    • Research
    • Technical Support and Capacity Building
    • Communications Support
    • Partnerships
  • Priority Issues
    • Tobacco Taxation
    • Smoke-Free Environment
    • E-cigarette Regulation
    • Tobacco Industry Monitoring
    • NCD Prevention And Control
  • Resources
    • Videos
    • News and Insights
    • Infographics and Fact Sheets
  • Get Involved
    • Connect With Us
    • Join Our Team
Health Promotion for a healthy nation
May 2, 2012
The 1st Public Health Debates
May 9, 2012

Invest on Health Promotion, Empower Filipinos

Published by hj on May 9, 2012
Categories
  • Press Release
Tags

“There is no satisfying the need for curative care in our country even if you give a hundred billion in investment. But give a billion to Health Promotion and it will already do a lot in preventing illnesses.”

This was the critique of Dr. Mario Villaverde, Associate Dean of the Ateneo School of Government on the proposal to earmark tobacco taxes for Universal Health Care. Dr. Villaverde said Universal Health Care focuses on disease control and curative health care but looks inadequate on Health Promotion that includes promotive and preventive health care.

According to the former Undersecretary of Health, the biggest proportion of the government’s health budget is used for curative health care that caters to a very small proportion of the population, when in fact curative care is already the end point of a continuum of health services. Investing in promotive and preventive health care is an essential component in fostering a healthy nation. It reduces the costs of curative care, especially for many illness that are expensive to treat and can free up substantial financial resources that can be used to fund other cost-effective health services.

“More than the individual cures, what we need is an intervention at the level of society. Factors of unhealthy lifestyles like unavailability of nutritious food and inefficient tobacco and alcohol control mechanisms contribute largely to the prevalence of diseases in the country. This is because people adapt to the type of environment presented to them,” explained Dr. Villaverde.

The Ottawa Charter defines Health Promotion as “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health.”

“Instead of attending to them only when their health has deteriorated, people should be empowered to make healthy choices by providing them an environment that is conducive to healthy lifestyles,” said Dr. Villaverde.

“For example, putting up appropriate infrastructures such as road signs and sidewalks would not only help in avoiding accidents and ensuring road safety; it will also create an environment that is favorable for walking and other physical activities,” he adds.

Other countries like Australia and Thailand have already benefited immensely from Health Promotion programs, like those for alcohol control, healthy diets, physical activity, road safety, and tobacco control, which are funded by “sin” tax revenue.

Article 6 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control advocates for the use of the income from tobacco excise taxes for Health Promotion programs.

“The impact of Health Promotion is not immediately seen but it is a wise investment. We must assess – what do we really need in this country? What does our healthcare system really need?” challenged Dr. Villaverde.

Share
0

Related posts

March 30, 2023

Smoking, too, can cause colon cancer—expert


Read more
January 25, 2023

House bill seeking to hike excise tax on e-cigarettes gains support


Read more
December 8, 2022

Stop smoking, eat healthy, exercise and prevent lung cancer—expert


Read more

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Youtube
  • Smoking, too, can cause colon cancer—expert

    Smoking, too, can cause colon cancer—expert

    March 30, 2023
  • A healthy lifestyle is key to a healthy heart

    A healthy lifestyle is key to a healthy heart

    February 23, 2023
  • House bill seeking to hike excise tax on e-cigarettes gains support

    House bill seeking to hike excise tax on e-cigarettes gains support

    January 25, 2023
  • Higher taxes for ‘sin’ goods urged

    Higher taxes for ‘sin’ goods urged

    December 31, 2022
  • Stop smoking, eat healthy, exercise and prevent lung cancer—expert

    Stop smoking, eat healthy, exercise and prevent lung cancer—expert

    December 8, 2022
  • 2021 TOBACCO INDUSTRY<br>INTERFERENCE INDEX

    2021 TOBACCO INDUSTRY<br>INTERFERENCE INDEX

    October 19, 2022

HealthJustice is a public health think tank that aims to bridge the gap between health and law to empower Filipinos to make healthy choices. The founding members of HealthJustice include doctors, lawyers, and economists who have been recognized for their services in both the private and public sector.

Our Partners

  • World Health Organization
  • Department of Health
  • Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance
  • Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
  • Global Center for Good Governance
  • NCD Alliance

Contact Us

  • Room 106-B Philippine Social Science Center Commonwealth Avenue Diliman, Quezon City
  • (+632) 8709 7503
  • info@healthjustice.ph
  • healthjustice.ph@gmail.com

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Youtube

HealthJustice is a public health think tank that aims to bridge the gap between health and law to empower Filipinos to make healthy choices. The founding members of HealthJustice include doctors, lawyers, and economists who have been recognized for their services in both the private and public sector.

Our Partners

  • World Health Organization
  • Department of Health
  • Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance
  • Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
  • Global Center for Good Governance
  • NCD Alliance

Contact Us

  • Room 106-B Philippine Social Science Center
    Commonwealth Avenue Diliman, Quezon City
  • (+632) 8709 7503
  • info@healthjustice.ph
  • healthjustice.ph@gmail.com

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Copyright © | HealthJustice Philippines | All Rights Reserved