13-Oct-16 The Philippines is short of 15,000 doctors to be able to adequately meet the health needs of Filipinos. It currently has one doctor for every 33,000 persons. The Health Secretary said there is a lack of volunteers willing to go to rural areas. The Doctors to the Barrios program can accommodate 398 doctors. However, 116 posts remain vacant. [image: CNN Philippines]

10-Oct-16 As state spending on health continues to increase - in the 2015-16 fiscal year it increased 7% - demand for private and specialist services are also expected to increase as the middle class grows. With this comes an opportunity for the private sector to work with the public sector, NGOs and the government to improve the situation across the country. [image: Aye Zaw Myo / World Bank / CC BY-NC-ND]

10-Oct-16 Vietnam's health insurance coverage will reach around 79% by the end of 2016 compared to the target of 76%, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien reported. The Minister said the sector is also likely to surpass the target for hospital beds per 10,000 people, estimated to reach 25 beds per 10,000, while the goal is 24.5. [image: VNA]

11-Sep-16 While demographers still assess the effects of the relaxation of the one-child policy, pregnant women and hospitals are feeling the squeeze. China forecasts that an extra 17 mn babies will be born within the next five years. In some of those years, there are expected to be more than 20 mn births. [image: South China Morning Post]

07-Sep-16 Russia has reached a shocking milestone, with over 1 mn people officially registered with HIV. Infection rates are growing at over 10% a year. AIDS experts are worried, and the hospitals are overwhelmed. The Kremlin has banned sex education in schools and teachers who mention sex or HIV to children under the age of 15 can be punished. [image: Kim Traill]