SunStar
Sunday Essay Cartoon by John Gilbert Manantan
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May 01, 2021
He was a short man, just a tiptoe shy of five feet. But his ideas about public health were all about the big problems of the day. He had a gift for communicating those ideas so well, whether he was talking about mass immunization, the challenge of talking to a conservative society about contraception, the developing world’s need for generic medicines, and the campaign to send doctors to distant communities.
When Dr. Juan Flavier served as health secretary in the first half (1992-1995) of President Fidel Ramos’, he showed how complex public health programs could be explained to the public in memorable and sometimes humorous ways. A favorite photo stands out. Secretary Flavier had been campaigning to ban smoking in government offices and other public places, and for the launch, someone came up with the idea of placing a larger-than-life cigarette with a cartoonish face onstage. In itself, that was not an uncommon idea.