Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Rural Health Unit in the Philippines

1957; Volume: 72; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/4589869

2327-6258

Malcolm J. Ford, Amadeo H. Cruz,

Healthcare Systems and Reforms

JN the couniitries of the Elast, ml-ore aiid m lore iinterest is being(, focused onirurial areas b- cau11se of the rise in population, the importallce of food piroducctioni, anid the progress of lancd tenullre reformi moveenieiits.Providiing local health services to rurlal inhabitants is of mlajor si onificance aild, ill the Philippines, the gov- erlment's lhealtlh p)iogramii lhas recently been rechliarted to bringc these serv-ices to every mniciplality ill the Repuiblic.Historical Review l'iublic lhealtlh in the 1Philippines appears to have beeni fostered by the Franciscani friars.In 1577, Friallr Cleiiienlte of the Order of Friars luilova set uip a miiedical dispensary for the in(ligenit of Manila in the l'osteria of the Fralnciscan convent ini the Intramutiros, or old walle(d city of AlsInila.This eventually becamiie the Sain Juian de Dios lHospital, whiclh operated at its origyinal site for 368 years, up to the Second AW'orld War.Followiing the creation of this in- stitntiOll, otlher lhospitals were built in miianyv otlher parts of the Plilippinies.In 1690, dntring the Spanisl occuplation, the Doml-inican Padre Juani de Pergero was instrumenital in installinig a water system for the towin of Sani Juan del Monite anid for Manila.Charles IV of Spaini senit his personal physi- ciall, Dr. Francisco Javier de Balmnis, to MIexico, Cenitral anid Soutlh Amiierica, aand the Plhilippiies, whlere lhe ariived in 1805 to introduceAt the time of this study, Dr.