Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the world’s number one cause of death and disability and among the leading causes of death in the Philippines. However, the wealth gap between the rich and the poor and a lack of education about preventative behaviors has made it challenging for much of the population to combat the rising danger of NCDs. Action must be taken to address the sheer death toll caused by these diseases in the Philippines.

The Danger of NCDs

NCDs are conditions that tend to last for a long duration with long-term health consequences and arise not as a result of acute infection but as a result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors. There are four main groups of NCDs: cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes; and five major risk factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and air pollution.

These factors all increase the threat of NCDs and are caused by rapid urbanization, poor urban planning, unhealthy lifestyles and population aging. Other risk factors include metabolic ones, such as high blood pressure and obesity, and environmental ones, such as air pollution; these all contribute to the risk of NCDs.

Every year, NCDs kill 41 million people, a staggering number equivalent to 74% of global deaths — a death toll exceeding even that of infectious diseases. Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected, accounting for 77% of NCD deaths — poverty can be closely linked to NCDs. Poorer families do not always have the knowledge or the means to avoid harmful products that induce risk factors, and they do not have the income to access health services to treat NCDs. The combination of the extortionate costs of NCDs and the loss of household income forces millions and millions into poverty each year.

The Impact of Chronic Diseases in the Philippines

The top five causes of death in the Philippines are 1) ischemic heart diseases, 2) cerebrovascular diseases, 3) neoplasms or cancer, 4) diabetes mellitus and 5) hypertensive diseases. These are all NCDs and are estimated to have caused around 70% of deaths in the Philippines. A World Health Organization (WHO) study has shown that Filipino women are more at risk of NCDs — 240,000 Filipino women die from NCDs per year. There were 511,748 NCD deaths in 2019, with NCDs responsible for 72% of deaths among women and 68% among men. Women are especially vulnerable to NCDs because maternal and perinatal conditions contribute to the mortality rate caused by these diseases.

Not only do NCDs cause illness, disability and death, but they also have economic consequences. The burden of such diseases in the Philippines reduces economic output, with economic losses from NCDs costing PHP 756.5 billion, equivalent to around 5% of the country’s GDP in 2017. 

The Healthy Hearts Program

In 2021, the Department of Health (DOH) worked with local governments, alongside WHO and Resolve to Save Lives, to implement the Healthy Hearts Program in the Iloilo province. The program intensified efforts in seven hypertension service sites to prevent NCDs and cardiovascular diseases, using job aids and e-learning courses to support health care workers in the province. This effort helped equip the workers with accurate and relevant information on cardiovascular diseases, allowing them to provide patients with improved screening, diagnosis and treatment protocols.

The Healthy Hearts Program also includes support for the accreditation of health facilities, providing the Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama or Konsulta primary health care package of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

By working at a local level and aiming the program at local communities, it has assisted nearly 250,000 adults, helping them access regular consultations and a continuous supply of antihypertensive medications. It has also successfully improved the health outcomes for those living with hypertensive diseases in the Philippines, with 80% of hypertensive patients exhibiting controlled blood pressure.

Continuing Efforts Against NCDs

To fight back against the nation’s biggest killers, the Philippines must address the risk factors that lead to the rise of NCDs. In an expansion of the Healthy Hearts Program that will take place from 2023 to 2024, the DOH and WHO aim to further improve hypertension detection and control by including an additional 36 implementation sites in the Iloilo province and 18 sites in Antique. The program will also aim to support the prevention of NCDs at a governmental level, encouraging the creation of governmental programs and policies that address the risk factors of NCDs.

Projects like these help make health services more accessible to those living in poverty, improve the condition of those living with NCDs and help educate health workers on preventative behaviors, continuing to combat the looming danger of noncommunicable diseases in the Philippines.

– Stephanie Chan
Photo: Flickr