Journal of Public Health | pp.

1–2

Correspondence
Public health activism amid the Covid-19 pandemic: the case
of the Alliance of Health Workers

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ABSTRACT

In an editorial, the editors note how crucial the role is of public health activism in enforcing efficient and effective public health management.
The government is the lead institution in any national response to the pandemic and to ensure transparency on its end, it is important for any
network of health organizations and associations not to shy away from embracing an activist role. In this correspondence, the author explores
the case of the Alliance of Health Workers, a union of government and private health workers, and its advocacy towards an empowered status
of healthcare professionals in the Philippines.

Keywords accountability, healthcare workers, transparency

To the Editor and simultaneous noise barrage campaigns seeking to have a

Webster and Neal believe that to ensure accountability and
transparency from any government on how it responds to
the pandemic and public health concerns, networks of health
organizations must embrace a more proactive role through
engagement in public health activism.1 Drawing from a defini-
tion proposed by Musolino et al .2 , public health activism may
be attributed to a kind of civil activism aimed at addressing the
concerns of population health and inequities within the health
systems. On the global stage, the People’s Health Movement
(PHM) is one of the large networks of health organizations
that have been actively involved in campaigns in various policy
areas like refugee health, rural health, water sanitation, and
access to medicines among others.2
In the Philippines, the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW)
has been at forefront of the campaign in addressing the
deplorable condition of health workers in the country,
particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The group has
condemned the failure of the government to provide its
many health workers with legally mandated allowances which
include hazard pay and allowances for food, transportation
and accommodation benefits since September 2020.3 On top
of that, the lack of adequate health workers has also pushed
these workers to extended working hours resulting in extreme
fatigue and burnout.4 At the height of all these, several
healthcare professionals staged a series of mass protests
dialog with the government to address their difficult situation.
But instead of having their concerns addressed, the group was
red-tagged by the government as a front organization of the
CPP-NPA-NDF and was perceived as a threat to the state.5 In
its press statement, the group condemned it as malicious and
irresponsible and vowed to continue fighting for the rights
of the healthcare workers in the country.6 Not long after,
the group’s desire to have a dialog with the government took
place last 19 April 2021, as represented by the top officials of
the Department of Health, headed by Sec. Francisco Duque.
In that dialog, the government promised to address all the
grievances of the healthcare workers and vowed to give the
workers their unpaid benefits under the law.7
What this narrative reveals is how the empowered
participation of peoples through organizations and asso-
ciations can affect significant social and policy change. It
is never enough to leave the government unchecked of its
supposed obligations and duties to its people. The power of
activism ensures that all stakeholders’ rights and privileges
are addressed within reasonable democratic processes and
procedures. Public health is a concern not only of healthcare
workers and professionals; nor of the government and state,
but a communal concern of everyone. It is hoped that public
health activism does not only contribute to policy-making but
also community-building and people empowerment.

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2 JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Acknowledgment
No funding was received for this paper.
Conflict of interest
The author declares no conflict of interest in this paper.
References
1 Webster P, Neal K. Covid reflections—let us talk of politicians and
professors. J Public Health (Oxf) 2021;43(1):1–2. doi: 10.1093/pub-
med/fdab075.
2 Musolino C, Baum F, Freeman T et al. Global health activists’ lessons
on building social movements for Health for All. Int J Equity Health
2020;19(1):116.
3 Amnesty International. Philippines: Country Faces Health and Human
Rights Crisis One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic. Amnesty International
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6 Alliance of Health Workers - AHW National. Press Statement: Health
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(14 June 2021, date last accessed).
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Philippine Daily Inquirer. 21 April 2021. https://newsinfo.inquire
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xWC8nD8IH1ZplrY (14 June 2021, date last accessed).
Willard Enrique R. Macaraan
Theology and Religious Education Department, De La Salle
University, 1004 Manila, Philippines
Address correspondence to Willard Enrique R. Macaraan,
E-mail: willard.macaraan@dlsu.edu.ph.
doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab259