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Department of Health 

Vision - The leader of health for all in the Philippines

Mission - Guarantee  equitable, sustainable and quality health for all Filipinos, especially the poor, and to lead the quest for excellence in health. 

Department of Health Profile (Thrusts for 2002)

The Department of Health (DOH) is the principal health agency in the Philippines. It is responsible for ensuring access to basic public health services to all Filipinos through the provision of quality health care and regulation of providers of health goods and services.

Given the mandate, DOH is both a stakeholder in the health sector and a policy and regulatory body for health. As a major player, DOH is a  technical resource, a catalyzer for health policy and a political sponsor and advocate for health issues in behalf of the health sector.


The DOH Offices

The DOH is composed of about 17 central offices, 16 Centers for Health Development located in various regions, 70 hospitals and 4 attached agencies.

Central Office

The central office is composed of the Office of the Secretary and five major function clusters:

1. Office of the Secretary .

The following comprise the staff support services to the Secretary of Health: Health Emergency Management Staff; Internal Audit Staff, the Media Relations Group and the Public Assistance Group including 3 major Zonal Offices of the DOH located in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. These Zonal Offices are headed by an Undersecretary and supported by an Assistant Secretary. These offices are mandated to coordinate and monitor the implementation the Health Sector Reform Agenda, the National Health Objectives and the Local Government Code with the various Centers for Health Development.

2. Sectoral Management Support Cluster is composed of Health Human Resource Development Bureau and the Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau.
3. Internal Management Support Cluster is composed of the Administrative Service, Information Management Service, Finance Service and the Procurement and Logistics Service.
4. Health Regulation Cluster is composed of the Bureau of Health Facilities and Services, Bureau of Food and Drugs and Bureau of Health Devices and Technology.
5. External Affairs Cluster is composed of the Bureau of Quarantine and International Health Surveillance, Bureau of International Health Cooperation and Bureau of Local Development
6. Health Program Development Cluster is composed of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, National Epidemiology Center, National Center for Health Promotion and National Center for Health Facilities Development.

Center for Health Development

Responsible for field operations of the Department in its administrative region and for providing catchment area with efficient and effective medical services. It is tasked to implement laws, regulation, policies and programs. It is also tasked to coordinate with regional offices of the other Departments, offices and agencies as well as with the local governments.


DOH Hospitals

Provides hospital-based care; specialised or general services, some conduct research on clinical priorities and training hospitals for medical specialisation.


Attached Agencies

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation is implementing the national health insurance law, administers the medicare program for both public and private sectors. The Dangerous Drugs Board on the other hand, coordinates and manages the dangerous drugs control  program. The other two agencies are Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care and the Philippine National AIDS Council.