ADB lends $600 million to Philippines for universal health program

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has secured a $600 million (P30.21 billion) loan funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve the country’s healthcare system.

In a statement, the Manila-based multilateral lender said it has approved a $600-million policy-based loan for the improvement of the universal health care (UHC) program.

The UHC Law aims to ensure that all Filipinos are guaranteed equitable access to quality and affordable health care goods and services, and protected against financial risk.

ADB’s latest loan program, Build Universal Health Care Program, to the country will support the government’s initiatives to improve the financing and delivery of health services and implement measures to monitor the performance of health service providers.

Since last year, the pandemic has been exposing the severe weakness in health systems globally and exacerbated gaps in quality and service of healthcare.

The Philippines, for one, did not escape the constraints experienced during the pandemic, especially at the height of surging COVID-19 cases.

ADB director of Human and Social Development for Southeast Asia Ayako Inagaki emphasized that the loan program aims to boost the government’s ability to achieve its UHC goals and provide timely and equitable health care services, especially for the poor and marginalized.

“This new ADB program will help the government boost financing for UHC, expand the supply of health facilities and workers, enable the integration of health care providers, and enhance health system efficiency,” ADB principal health specialist for Southeast Asia Eduardo Banzon said.

The program will expand the use of digital tools for the sector and ensure sharing of data among health information systems and databases.

It will also strengthen the implementation capacity of the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and improve collaboration with other public and private stakeholders.

Further, ADB’s fresh funding  will support local government’s efforts to expand health promotion and help improve access to health care workers and health care facilities, particularly in underserved areas.

Apart from the loan, ADB will administer a $2-million (P100.7 million) technical assistance grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to support the implementation of health policy reforms in LGUs.

The bank will likewise provide technical advice as the government prepares to implement the next set of UHC-related reforms by 2023.