As we celebrate the Zuellig Family Foundation’s (ZFF) founding anniversary this September, we honor the values of Bridging Leadership—ownership, co-ownership, and co-creation—that continue to inspire change in our health and community work.

Through the I Am A Bridging Leader campaign, colleagues and friends share their reflections on what being a Bridging Leader means to them and how it has shaped their journey in building healthier communities.

 

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On September 18, 2025, the Zuellig Family Foundation, through its The Challenge Initiative (TCI)-Philippines team, met with the Lapu-Lapu City government to discuss family planning and adolescent health. Joining the meeting were City Administrator Atty. Almendras and the City Health Office team, led by nurses Ivy Amistad, Jovy Alonzo, and Leizel Lagtapon. The conversation served as a chance to reflect on the city’s progress, identify ongoing challenges, and consider ways to strengthen impact and sustainability.

Recovery and Resilience after COVID-19 

Like many local government units, Lapu-Lapu City experienced major disruptions in reproductive health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health workers were diverted to pandemic response, service delivery slowed, and demand for family planning dropped. Now, the City is steadily regaining momentum. With health staff back on the ground, there has been recovery in the uptake of short-acting methods such as pills, injectables, and condoms. Encouragingly, long-acting and permanent methods (LAPMs) like implants, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and sterilization are also increasing in demand. 

One area where Lapu-Lapu has exceeded expectations is in postpartum family planning (PPFP). Through sustained training and outreach activities, the city has exceeded its TCI commitment of ensuring that targeted providers are trained on PPFP–demonstrating that with political will and operational focus, service delivery can quickly regain strength. 

Related article:

• Eight Cities Share Success in Family Planning and Adolescent Health

Addressing the Data Gap 

Reliable data is critical for decision-making, yet the city continues to face difficulties in capturing a complete picture of family planning performance. Public facilities generally provide regular reports, though private birthing centers and hospitals show variable compliance rates. An ordinance requires reporting, but enforcement is limited without established legal penalties. The City Health Office is considering connecting compliance requirements to business permit processes and incorporating maternal death review procedures as accountability measures.

Another challenge lies in the transition to new Department of Health (DOH) performance indicators. Health staff are still adjusting from measuring modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) to tracking “demand satisfied”, which looks at the percentage of women with demand for family planning and who are actually using modern methods. Lapu-Lapu currently reports a demand satisfied rate of only 46%, far below the 70% national target. Continued coaching and capacity building will be essential to ensure that data is not only accurate but also used strategically for planning and advocacy. 

Investing in Young People 

Adolescent health remains a priority in Lapu-Lapu. Several health workers have been trained on adolescent-friendly health services (AFHS), and facilities are starting to offer confidential, youth-centered care. While formal DOH accreditation is still in development for most facilities, efforts are underway to address infrastructure needs, including the establishment of appropriate counseling spaces.

Despite these challenges, peer education is emerging as a promising practice. By mobilizing young people themselves to reach their peers, the city is creating more relatable and effective pathways to information and services. Plans are underway to expand peer education networks through collaboration with the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation and barangay-level initiatives. For sustainability, the city will need to determine the right peer-to-population ratio to ensure meaningful coverage across communities. 

Governance, Financing, and Sustainability 

Lapu-Lapu has demonstrated strong commitment to financing reproductive health, earmarking four million pesos in 2024 and five million pesos in 2025 for FP and adolescent health. 

Budget execution has been gradual, with 22% of funds utilized by mid 2025, indicating opportunities to accelerate implementation timelines to maintain program momentum. This highlights the potential for strengthening alignment between program objectives and financial planning. For example, advancing demand satisfied rates from 46% to 60% would involve specific resource requirements for peer educators, supplies, and community outreach activities, each with defined costs. Developing such costing frameworks could support city leadership, including the mayor and city council, in making strategic resource allocation decisions for optimal program impact.

In May 2025, the City completed a self-reliance assessment using TCI’s Reflection and Action to Improve Self-reliance and Effectiveness (RAISE) Tool. The results showed strong performance in data management (100%) and leadership (85%). However, areas needing improvement include formalizing policies, ensuring specific line-item allocations for FP and adolescent health, and strengthening supportive supervision systems. These gaps highlight where technical assistance and local leadership need to converge to ensure sustainability. 

Moving Ahead 

The meeting underscored both the progress and the unfinished work in Lapu-Lapu City’s reproductive health journey. On the one hand, the city has demonstrated resilience, ownership, and momentum—recovering service delivery, expanding postpartum FP, and investing in adolescent-friendly health services. On the other hand, challenges remain: persistent gaps in data reporting, budget execution, and demand satisfied rates reveal the need for stronger systems and sharper strategies. 

With committed leadership, available resources, and the support of partners like ZFF and TCI, Lapu-Lapu City is well-positioned to transform these challenges into breakthroughs. By enforcing policies, scaling up peer-led youth programs, and aligning financial investments with program outcomes, the city can not only close its current gaps but also emerge as a model for sustainable, locally-owned family planning and adolescent health programs in the Philippines. 

Author: Dr. Anthony Faraon, ZFF TCI-Philippines Chief of Party

The end-line study of the Integrated Provincial Health Systems Development Program (IPHSDP) highlights its role in enhancing leadership and health system resilience, achieving significant progress in Universal Health Care implementation and COVID-19 response across participating provinces, while underscoring the need for sustained collaboration and digital infrastructure improvement for effective policy-making and continued program success.

ZFF Study_IPHSDP

This policy paper examines gaps in the Philippines’ health system capacity to achieve universal health literacy under Universal Health Care and presents insights and recommendations for developing coherent strategies to institutionalize efficient and sustainable community-based health promotion and literacy programs at the local level.

ZFF Policy Paper_Health Promotion System

This policy brief advocates for strengthening Bataan’s barangay-based incentive program as a strategy to mitigate the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), emphasizing the importance of bolstering primary care to enhance early detection and treatment, thereby freeing resources for broader community development and improving the province’s Human Development Index (HDI).

ZFF Policy Paper_1BSHB

The study introduces the Barangay Leadership Management Program (BLMP) in Dinalupihan, Bataan, demonstrating its role in enhancing health leadership and management capacity at the barangay level to bolster primary care and integrate health services effectively.

ZFF Abstract_UHC-Dinalupihan

The Zuellig Family Foundation’s Accelerated Leadership Development Program aims to expedite Universal Health Care (UHC) implementation in Philippine provinces by enhancing leadership and technical skills among Department of Health regional UHC core teams, critical for overcoming setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ZFF Abstract_Accelerated Leadership Development Program

Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF)’s abstract on nutrition leadership ranked 4th at the International Affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (IAAND) Global Conference 2025.

The IAAND delegation included professionals from different fields—clinical work, public health, communications, education, and research. Of the group, 38.5% worked in public health nutrition.

Rio Fe Del Valle, Nutrition Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Expert at ZFF, presented the paper titled “Empowering Barangay Leaders for Nutrition and Development in the City of Manila, Philippines.” Out of 18 abstracts from around the world, ZFF’s work placed 4th. This recognition highlights the importance of strong partnerships—with communities, schools, the government, and both public and private groups—in driving improvements for public health nutrition, especially in developing countries like the Philippines.

The IAAND has officially published the conference proceedings. You can see the posters, listen to the talks, and learn more about global efforts to build stronger nutrition and dietetics programs here.

Read insights here

View the full presentation here:

ZFF Presentation_IAAND

What role do public-private partnerships play in improving health systems?

From November 18-22, 2024, Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) joined in the 8th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR 2024) in Nagasaki, Japan. Dr. Catherine Chung, ZFF Local Health Systems Portfolio Director, shared a compelling presentation on ZFF’s LHS project, “Provincial Leadership and Governance Program: A Public-Private Collaboration Model for Local Health Systems Strengthening Towards Universal Health Coverage in the Philippines.”

The study, co-authored by Fiona Norada and Dr. Anthony Faraon from ZFF, Arian Loreche and Veincent Pepito from the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health led by Dr. Manuel Dayrit, focused on the vital role of partnerships in strengthening health systems for better outcomes.

HSR 2024 gathered over 1,000 global participants, themed “Building Just and Sustainable Health Systems: Centering People and Protecting the Planet.” It was an excellent opportunity for ZFF to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and learn from global best practices on building people-centered health systems.

View the full presentation here:

ZFF Presentation_HSR