POLICY NOTES
- PN 2016-11: Do Capital Investments in Health Increase Local Service Utilization?
by Oscar F. Picazo, Ida Marie T. Pantig, Danica Aisa P. Ortiz, Melanie P. Aldeon, Nina Ashley O. Dela Cruz, and Juan Alfonso O. Tanghal
The Aquino administration started the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) in 2010 to provide large-scale capital investment for increasing the stock of hospitals and health centers in the country. Given the substantial financial resource allocated to the program, which aims to build and equip public health facilities, has HFEP increased the utilization of local health services? An impact evaluation study of HFEP was conducted to assess the net effect of the program. The study finds that hospitals and infirmaries that received HFEP investments showed a higher volume of services than those that did not. However, its implementation has been found to be problematic. Issues documented in the study include the inadequacy of HFEP funding that necessitated local governments to contribute their own funds to complete the construction of facilities, prolonged construction due to lack of budget, and delays on the part of the contractors.
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- PN 2016-10: What Is the Impact of DepED’s School-Based Feeding Program?
by Jose Ramon G. Albert, Ana Maria L. Tabunda, and Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa
The School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) of the Department of Education aims to address undernutrition among public primary pupils. This Policy Note summarizes the results of the impact evaluation (IE) study of the SBFP using a mixed methods approach for the school year 2013-2014. Quantitative surveys of program beneficiary pupils and their parents were undertaken to generate a counterfactual analysis. The study found, among others, inconsistencies in verbal descriptors between the nutrition status recorded in SBFP forms and nutrition status reports and the verified pre-feeding and post-feeding nutrition status computed from weight and height measurements. Thus, it recommends the need for standardized equipment for measurement of heights and weights to attain better program implementation. While the IE shows positive impacts on SBFP-fed children, the government needs to complement the SBFP with other programs to correct malnutrition practices among children below five years old. Click here for the full article
