Department of Health (Philippines)

The Department of Health is the principal national agency responsible for health policy and public-health administration in the Philippines. Led by a Secretary of Health within the executive branch, it sets standards, licenses and regulates health facilities, manages national disease-control and immunization programs, and coordinates the public hospital system. The department works alongside local government units, which administer many frontline health services under the country's devolved system, and with bodies such as the national health-insurance program. Its mandate covers health emergencies, public-health surveillance, and the regulation of health products and services across the archipelago.