What We Do

It Begins with Health

No doctors, no medicines, and most of the time, no physical structure even to call a clinic. These are just some of the challenges facing the local health landscape. In fact, that's the least of it.

In the Philippines, too many are still dying from diarrhea, pneumonia, and bronchitis-all highly preventable diseases. Communities have little to no access to clean water; toilets and indoor plumbing are yet to become a fact of life; malnourishment is rampant despite these communities being mainly agricultural.

You can say it's a poverty issue.

You can say it's the medical community's concern.

You can even say it's the responsibility of the government.

We at LHP say it's really about what you see as your stake in health.

The Leaders for Health Program believes that health is the key to transforming communities. It defines life and its quality. It is also a basic human right.

But for 25 million Filipinos, this right is more of an illusion.

It Begins with You

The average person believes that health is the responsibility of doctors, nurses, and somebody else called a health professional. However, LHP believes that health professionals, by themselves, cannot change an individual's or a community's health.

Good health begins with a changed mind-set and heart-set. It's about seeing yourself as the main stakeholder of your health. Good health really begins with you.

With the realization that health is in your hands, doctors and medicines merely become supporting actors. But it doesn't stop with you.

Many also view health as a personal, isolated concern. The truth is, your health is often a reflection of the community's health.

LHP wants people to ask, "What is happening in my community that is stopping me from achieving good health?"

It Ends in Empowerment

Do you have clean water? Is there proper waste disposal in your area? Is your community equipped to help you take charge of your health?

For the poorest communities in the Philippines, the answer to all that is a resounding NO. Health as a local government priority is overshadowed by bridges, parks, and roads. To many, good health means medicines they cannot afford yet continue to buy. To others, health is product of chance and where they get their next meal is much more important.

LHP seeks to correct these prevalent attitudes toward health by making the community into the #1 proponent for a changed health system. From the mayor who understands that progress is as much defined by eradicating childbirth deaths as it is building roads for commerce; to the to the farmer who realizes that his livelihood is as important as the cleanliness of his community's water system; and down to the mother who comes to understand that how she treats her body affects her breastfeeding child--everyone becomes a stakeholder empowered to put systems in place that will allow them to gain health and sustain it.

LHP doesn't hand over to communities a neat solution to achieving good health.

LHP equips the communities with the tools so that they are able to find ways to help themselves.

Today, the "LHP Way of Life" is the daily rhythm to which over a million Filipinos in over 30 municipalities think, feel, and behave about health. Join us as we reach over a million more.

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