University of the Philippines Manila School of Health Sciences in Leyte

[2] Established in 1976, the School of Health Sciences was seen as the solution to the lack and the inequitable distribution of health professionals serving rural communities in the Philippines.

[3] The school started as a two-classroom building and a small nipa hut at the Danilo Z. Romuladez Hospital (now the Eastern Visayas Medical Center) and then in 1981 transferred to its present campus at Palo, Leyte.

[5] In November 2013, during the onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the school's facilities were damaged and programs were interrupted.

[6][7] The mission of UPM - SHS is to train clinically competent and socially conscious health workers who will stay and serve in depressed and underserved communities especially in the rural areas.

[4][8] The school offers an innovative "step-ladder" curriculum where each student starts at a single point and exits at various levels with varying competencies, first as Community Health Worker (CHW), or Midwife then sequentially as Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and eventually as Doctor of Medicine (MD).