Imagine this: you’re living in a rural community, and the nearest health center is still a boat ride away. When you get to the health center, however, there are no medicines available. This is sadly a common conundrum in the Philippines. So how do we make health accessible, available, and acceptable for everyone? Dr. Fonsy Regala, Chief of the Program Implementation and Outreach Division of the Department of Health- Health Promotion Bureau, shares his experiences working both for communities at the grassroots level and working with communities at a national scale to make people-centered solutions.

If you would like to learn more about the community health promotion efforts of the Department of Health, check out their playbooks through this link: http://bit.ly/HPB_2021Playbooks 

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

1. Mobilizing the Community for Better Health: What the Rest of America Can Learn from Northern Manhattan by Allan Formicola and Lourdes Hernandez-Cordero https://amzn.to/3QfDbFR 
2. Engaging Your Community: A Toolkit for Partnership, Collaboration, and Action by John Snow, Inc. (JSI) https://bit.ly/3D0X7t7 

You can visit the EpiMetrics, Inc. website at www.epimetrics.com.ph. You can also follow us on Facebook at Epimetrics Inc., and on Instagram through @epimetricsph. Contact us through our email: publichealthonduty@gmail.com.

This podcast was produced by Abigail Tan of EpiMetrics Inc and Antonette Mendoza of Big Baby Studios. It was edited and hosted by Angeli Magdaraog and Martha dela Paz of EpiMetrics Inc. It contains original theme music by Big Baby Studios’ Peavey Nicolas, who also engineered the episode. A special thanks to our executive producer, Dr. John Q. Wong.