Civil society groups urged the Department of Health and Intellectual Property Office to commence the implementation of Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008, two months after the law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations are approved.
Consumer group Cut the Cost, Cut the Pain Network (3CPNet) called on the Department of Health to inform the [...]

HEALTH | BUSINESS  By Carlos H. Conde |  What convinced me that aspartame is not safe are not just the studies that have found its link to cancer but also the efforts of Donald Rumsfield and the biotech giant Monsanto in ramming this product down our throats.

Times are getting harder and life has become more difficult. Too many indicators point to the fact that life is not getting better for Filipino families. In fact, the number of people going hungry has risen that the Philippines is now among the list of countries with the highest incidence of hunger.
A global hunger survey, [...]

SEATCA is calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Health Ministers who will be meeting this week to pressure their governments into adopting policies that will make it more difficult for people—adults and minors—to buy cigarettes.

The recent conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and government forces threatened communities in southern Philippines, including the predominantly Muslim provinces in Mindanao. This resulted in 511,090 persons being displaced during the height of the conflict.

AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros called for the use of ‘women power’ to counter the efforts by anti-RH legislators to stall plenary debates on the controversial bill by questioning the quorum, urging all fifty-two female members of the House of Representatives to be always present and active during session hours.
She said that the 14th Congress is [...]

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Loren Legarda yesterday called on the public and the private sectors to join hands to ensure the safety of the citizenry from the health risk posed by the banned milk and milk products from China.
The Chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs also expressed alarm over the considerable effects of [...]

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) expressed its support of the government following the ban on imported China milk products imposed by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

The youth’s response made to the Court of Appeals is one of many actions taking place in more than 25 countries around the world this week that challenges interference by tobacco giants in implementation of the global tobacco treaty, formally known as the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

WHO says it is important for the public to know that apart from the possibility of intentional poisoning of milk from China, powdered formula milk is intrinsically not a sterile product. Health risks can increase due to improper handling, storage, and preparation of formula.

Fifty-ninth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific
22-26 September, 2008, Manila, Philippines
MANILA, 25 September 2008—Noncommunicable diseases account for eight out of every 10 deaths in the Western Pacific Region, and the situation is expected to worsen in countries in economic transition if urgent measures are not taken, the World Health Organization has [...]

The World Health Organization warned today that countries will need to be much more aggressive in their attempts to stamp out smoking if they are to counter the tobacco industry’s marketing techniques.

The Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry (PCPI) expresses support to strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD). The group also urges the agency to improve its procedures and implement a supportive regulatory policy most especially for Filipino drug companies, for competition to thrive and bring down the prices of medicines.
“We are very hopeful that [...]

Available data on HIV testing and counseling indicate that the majority of people living with HIV still do not know they are sick and, therefore, are not only missing the opportunity to access available services, but may also unknowingly be spreading the disease.

Manila 25 September 2008—The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to accelerate implementation of the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases to achieve the basic capacities required to deal with new infections.
While some countries have started strengthening their ability to respond to disease, others need to work harder to achieve the strategy’s core capacity [...]