Day 1!

My program director and I standing in the WHO HQ in Manila.

The first day of my internship was mainly spent laying a foundation for the things that I was going to see and experience throughout my 4 weeks in the Philippines. I attended a lecture about the healthcare system and learned how quite recently, the healthcare infrastructure had undergone a devolution. In simple terms, healthcare became the responsibility of the local communities, first. If people were sick, they would first go to their local health care center, and then be referred up if they needed more specialized care. This grassroots approach is effective on some level because the local governments are perhaps the ones that are best suited to treat the local population’s diseases and cases. The shortcoming however is that not all local governments prioritize health. Since the health centers are primarily funded based on the local government’s budget, if the local government does not allocate enough funds to staff an adequate amount of doctors or nurses, the population will suffer and be unable to access care in a timely manner. I was also able to visit the World Health Organization, whose Southeast Headquarters is in Manila. There I was able to introduce myself to some of the leading individuals and listen as they discussed future plans for the healthcare system in the Philippines. I also learned about how healthcare had evolved and changed in the Philippines as a result of colonization and ideas that were introduced by the Spanish and the English. The Philippines is extremely unique in that it is essentially a melting pot of many different cultures, and this is also evidenced in their healthcare system.