The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said health system reforms are needed to address the country’s growing cases of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

In a study, PIDS Research Fellow Valerie Gilbert Ulep, PIDS Supervising Research Specialist, Jhanna Uy, and PIDS Research Analyst Lyle Daryll Casas said NCDs are now the “leading causes of disease burden” in the country.