Capitol Medical Center wins at Healthcare Asia Awards 2025 for paediatric primary healthcare programme

The hospital won the Public Health Initiative of the Year - Philippines category.

Capitol Medical Center (CMC) has been awarded the Public Health Initiative of the Year - Philippines at the prestigious Healthcare Asia Awards 2025 for its comprehensive, community-based paediatric primary healthcare programme. This initiative equips paediatric residency training graduates with the skills to manage illnesses at the community level and refer complex cases to specialist referral centres when necessary.

Since 2011, the CMC Department of Paediatrics has partnered with Barangay Paligsahan to address local health concerns in collaboration with health workers and barangay officials. The programme utilises health centre records, logbooks, anthropometric data from the annual Operation Timbang, periodic health evaluation surveys, and feedback from stakeholders to monitor its impact effectively. Trainees of the paediatric residency programme play a key role in identifying children with special needs and assisting families in managing health concerns, as well as accessing necessary healthcare services.

The programme focusses on addressing existing paediatric health issues such as malnutrition, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, developmental delays, improper feeding practices, teenage pregnancy, high-risk behaviours, and child abuse. These concerns are managed through a range of primary healthcare services, including community health surveys, health centre visits, family home visits, child protection and adolescent health seminars, breastfeeding, nutrition and child healthcare support, educational lectures, and specialist referrals. All activities are supervised by paediatric specialists and presented to the department during scheduled conferences.

In 2022, the CMC Department of Paediatrics developed a training module for barangay health workers and volunteers, focussing on primary healthcare for children aged 0 to 5 years. This manual was based on reputable training resources, including the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) manual, the Department of Health (DOH) training manual, and the World Health Organization’s Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) and Community-based IMCI manuals.

On 31 May 2024, a six-day training programme for community health volunteers was launched and successfully concluded on 3 July 2024. The training ended with a workshop and the distribution of certificates to 14 participants.

This partnership between CMC and Barangay Paligsahan aims to reinforce the Universal Healthcare Programme by engaging not only healthcare professionals but also dedicated community volunteers.

The Healthcare Asia Awards honours exceptional hospitals across the region that redefine standards of excellence through innovative solutions and significant contributions to their communities. CMC’s achievement highlights its unwavering commitment to improving paediatric healthcare at the grassroots level.

The Healthcare Asia Awards is presented by Healthcare Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your organisation's remarkable initiatives and contributions to the healthcare industry, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].