Strengthening Health Leadership for UHC through Strategic Planning: Lessons from Aklan and Baguio
Insights from the Field
Health leaders from Aklan and Baguio City joined a two-day strategic planning workshop on November 13–24, 2025, under Zuellig Family Foundation’s Bayang Malusog Community of Practice.
The session introduced an outcomes-based and data-driven approach to improving health systems, with hypertension prevention and control as the main example. This method supports the goals of Universal Health Care (UHC) by showing how program design, resource allocation, and stakeholder engagement can directly contribute to better health outcomes.
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The workshop came at an important time. With the ongoing strategic pause in the Health Care Provider Network implementation for demonstration sites, local government units (LGUs) now have space to revisit their plans and budgets. This pause allows them to shift their focus from system integration to the results they want to achieve.
Dr. Carlo Panelo, healthcare economics expert and Professor at the University of the Philippines Manila College of Medicine, reminded participants that, even with the pause, LGUs must stay proactive. He encouraged them to think about health financing with outcomes in mind and to use the hypertension control program as a way to bring partners together and drive improvements in service delivery.
Participants engaged in hands-on exercises to review program performance, set achievable targets, define essential service packages, and estimate the resources needed. They also identified possible financing sources, drafted financial plans, and outlined governance and monitoring arrangements.
Both Aklan and Baguio recognized the importance of having complete, reliable data and saw how better data management can support structured planning across different health programs. They also acknowledged common challenges such as limited capacity, incomplete information, and resistance to new planning methods. Still, both areas committed to refining their plans and becoming more proactive so that their health indicators clearly reflect the progress they aim to achieve.
Hypertension served as the workshop’s main health indicator because it remains a major cause of illness and death in the Philippines, especially due to heart disease and stroke. Chronic diseases like hypertension require strong systems that can support long-term care, demand more resources, and affect all levels of service and stages of life. For the participants, hypertension became a practical way to understand how strategic planning can push systems forward.
Aklan appreciated how the process can be applied to other health programs, especially as new program managers come onboard. Their financial analysis even showed a surplus that could support hypertension interventions. “We were reminded how to do planning based on factual data and in a systematic way. Despite workload and the tendency to ‘copy-paste,’ being here allowed us to focus on proper planning,” said Dr. Daystar Sedillo, Medical Officer IV of Aklan.
Baguio valued the clarity and structure of the approach and noted the need to strengthen data gathering and management. “We need to fine-tune the planning process to target root causes and outcomes,” shared Rommel de Guzman, Health Education and Promotions Officer II of Baguio. The city also saw how the Local Health Systems Maturity Level connects with actual implementation and outputs.
For both LGUs, the pause is not a setback but a chance to prepare. Once funds start flowing again, they want to be ready—capable of managing resources well and confident that their plans will lead to healthier communities.