Genetic services and testing in the Philippines.

Abstract

The Philippines is a developing middle-income country in Southeast Asia and is regarded as one of the fastest growing economies in the region. It became a Spanish colony for more than three centuries (16th to 19th century), after which the Americans took over until the Japanese came in the 1940s during World War II. With the help of the Americans, the Filipinos regained their freedom. The country became a republic and achieved sovereignty in 1946. With a very long history of colonizations and intermarriages, the Filipinos are said to be a mixture of different races, including Malay, Chinese, Spanish, Negrito and American. Most of the people in the country are Tagalog, and the rest belong to other ethnic groups such as Cebuano, Ilocano, Bisaya, Hiligaynon Ilonggo, Bikolano and Waray. Majority of Filipinos are Catholics, but Muslims and other Christian and non-Christian sects also play important roles in the society. The official languages used in the country are Filipino (Tagalog) and English (World Factbook 2011; Dolan 1991). In general, health indices in the country show an improving trend due to the programs of the Department of Health (DOH) and local government units (LGUs). However, despite this progress, issues of poverty and compromised access to health services in remote areas continue as pressing concerns. Additionally, the country’s health expenditure per capita remains on the low side compared to other countries in the region (UNDP 2009; UNESCO 2009). Delivery of medical genetic services remains to be a challenge in both private and public sectors. Since infectious diseases are still in the top ten causes of infant mortality and morbility, limited attention is given to congenital anomalies and other genetic diseases, despite the fact that congenital anomalies are included in the top ten causes of infant mortality (DOH 2006). This is aggravated by the lack of geneticists and genetic counsellors to serve the patients that are spread out in numerous islands.