Twenty Years of Progress on Maternal and Child Health in the Philippines: An Equity Lens

This article assesses trends and inequalities in maternal and child health in the Philippines between 1993 and 2013, using 6 national household surveys, and also compares the Philippines’ performance to 15 other Asia-Pacific countries. Thirteen indicators of child health outcomes and maternal and child health interventions are examined. Two measures of inequality are used: the absolute difference between the poorest and wealthiest quintile, and the concentration index. Coverage of all indicators has improved, both on average and among the poorest quintile; however, increases are very small for child health interventions (especially immunization coverage). By the first measure of inequality, all indicators show narrowing inequalities. By the second measure, inequality has fallen only for maternal health interventions. Compared with other 15 other developing Asia-Pacific countries, the Philippines performs among the best on the child health outcomes examined and above average on maternal health interventions (except family planning), but only at or below average on child health interventions.