From 17 to 19 June 2025, the City Government of Pasig, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Office to the Philippines, hosted its 3rd Annual Health Summit. Key partners, including the Department of Health, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Pasig City Health Office, the University of the Philippines College of Public Health, and leaders from communities, youth groups, and barangays gathered for the event.
Discussions during the summit covered a range of topics—including effective health communication, youth and community engagement, health promotion, and strengthening health service delivery—all underscoring the vital role of local governments in creating healthier, more inclusive cities.
Participatory processes for health and well-being in urban settings
The summit showcased Pasig’s important role in WHO’s initiative on urban Governance for Health and Well-being. Under this initiative, the City of Pasig in Metro Manila established the UrbanLead Committee through a city administrative order. The committee brings together officials from Pasig’s health, planning, and environment departments to help ensure that health and well-being are integrated into city plans and policies.
Through the strong involvement of local government, Pasig City has worked with barangays to ensure their development plans have health and well-being as priorities. The plans were created through participatory processes that actively involved barangay leaders, youth representatives, civil society organizations, and local officials. This approach has strengthened transparency, equity, and community ownership in local planning, budgeting, and programme management.
“With collaboration and by empowering our communities, we can sustain the progress made through the Urban Governance for Health and Well-being initiative. We value our partnership with WHO, academic institutions, communities, and youth groups in keeping Pasig a healthy city, and in demonstrating how local governments can lead in building communities that prioritize people’s overall health,” said Honourable Vico Sotto, Mayor of Pasig City.
Leading locally, impacting globally
Earlier this year, the City of Pasig was recognized by WHO with a Regional Director’s Award at the 10th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. The award, which recognized Pasig’s leadership in promoting healthy, inclusive urban environments, comes at a time when cities across the globe are facing mounting challenges—such as growing populations, climate change and environmental health issues, and inequality. Addressing these challenges requires strong local leadership and active community involvement to make cities safer, healthier, and more liveable.
Speaking at the event, Ms Olivia Lawe Davies, Acting Deputy WHO Representative to the Philippines, said: “WHO and city governments have important shared goals: we want people to live their best lives, support one another, and achieve their full potential. Pasig’s achievements are an example of governance that puts people’s health at the centre of development and shows how collaboration across sectors and meaningful community engagement can bring about real, lasting improvements in urban health.”
Pasig’s 3rd Annual Health Summit ended with a strong call to action, urging continued collaboration among government agencies, communities, and civil society organizations to build sustainable, people-centred health systems that will shape healthier futures, starting from the local level.