The impact of the devolution of public health of Angeles City: an evaluation

Abstract

Devolution is the creation or strengthening of subnational levels of government that are substantially independent of the national level with respect to a defined set of functions. In the case of devolving the public health, there is the local autonomy of the Local Government Unit that would "empower" them in order to provide the specific health services needed by a community. Angeles City, located in the province of Pampanga, is a first-class highly urbanized city. Despite of all of its features, the city still faces health issues that are mainly caused by the devolution, mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991. This study assesses the performance of the health system of Angeles City after the devolution by comparing the situation before and after the devolution thru a series of data. With surveys, interviews and archival research, this study aims to determine whether the devolution of health care system in Angeles City has made an impact, positive or negative, on the quality and quantity of health services given by the public health institutions to the Angeleños. Looking ahead, current health problems are discussed thru the three main parts of health system affected by the devolution: Health Services, Health Financing and Manpower. The devolution has its own advantages and disadvantages but on what weighs more will depend on other variables like the nature of the place being studied, like Angeles City.