05-Sep-16 The Philippines Department of Health Secretary Paulyn Rosell-Ubial has said it is focused on fast-tracking the development of health infrastructure. Ubial said the government envisioned one doctor per five barangays (districts) and one health station per barangay within the six-year term of President Duterte in line with the government’s pronouncement of implementing a human approach in improving the people’s welfare. [image: Alamy]

31-Aug-16 The Brazilian economic crisis could see universal healthcare replaced by US-style compulsory health insurance. The Government has new plans for healthcare as part of plans to slash expenditure. The proposed cuts could have a catastrophic effect both for the 19 mn Brazilians living under USD3.10 per day and for the rapidly expanding middle class who rely on public healthcare. [image: IMTJ]

14-Aug-16 The Philippines Department of Health has stressed the need to integrate eye care into public health at the local government level, disclosing that nearly 300,000 Filipinos are blind in both eyes. The estimated number of persons who have bilateral blindness is 295,152, 59% of which is due to cataract and 14% due to uncorrected refractive errors. [image: Resources for the Blind]

25-Aug-16 Elderly healthcare costs in Singapore are projected to rise tenfold over the next 15 years to more than USD49 bn annually. This means an average of USD37,427 will be spent on healthcare for each elderly person by 2030, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, just ahead of Australia. [image: Tiffany Goh / The Straits Times]

22-Aug-16 Ho Chi Minh City plans to set up emergency aid stations to provide first aid more effectively. The health department has proposed cooperation with an Australian university to train paramedics to man the 25 planned stations. The health department said setting up such centres is appropriate for a city prone to traffic jams. [image: An Bang]