Strategies to improve the health of Filipinos
THROUGH
the years, health statistics have indicated that more Filipinos may now live longer as a result of collaborative efforts of the government, various development partners, and stakeholders.
Several health sector reforms have been made to expand the breadth and depth of health service delivery and coverage.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been a staunch partner of the national government in developing strategies to improve the health of the people.
This includes the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), a mechanism that defines WHO’s strategic framework, aligns it with national health policies and programs, and complements the Department of Health’s (DOH’s) pursuit of better health outcomes.
Dr. Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, along with DOH secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, launched the new Philippines- WHO Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) 2017–2022 at the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City recently, jointly committing to the vision of All for Health Towards Health for All.
The CCS sets the parameters of collaborative work of WHO and the Government of the Philippines over the next six years to realize the vision of the Philippine Health Agenda.
WHO’s engagement in Davao represents an innovative way of linking tangible local action with regional and national policy development.
The province has been recognized as an advance implementation area for several pioneering public health approaches, with WHO and the DOH working hand-in-hand.
The experiences drawn from the engagement have laid the blueprint for the Philippine Health Agenda, which symbolizes several of the new priorities enshrined in the CSS.
The Philippines is a fast growing economy undergoing profound societal transformation.
However, with growth and changing lifestyles come challenges of non- communicable diseases. At the same time, diseases of poverty persist. It was learned that around 30 percent of children are malnourished and around 30 percent of the population lack regular access to essential medicines.
While health insurance coverage is high, out-of-pocket payments remain high, accounting for more than half of the country’s total health expenditure.
Seeking to address these concerns, the administration of President Duterte has ushered in a national pro-poor platform.
DOH has moved swiftly to take this forward, endorsing the Philippine Health Agenda 2016-2022.
The agenda guides work towards goals of better health outcomes for all, overcoming disparities and protecting against high health-care costs.
The newly launched Philippines-WHO CCS 2017-2022 complements the DOH agenda with five unique strategic priorities:
Save lives by ensuring full access to immediate impact interventions to save more lives now;
Promote well-being by empowering people to lead healthy lives and enjoy responsive health services;
Protect health by better anticipating and mitigating disasters, and environmental and emerging health threats; Optimize the health architecture and overcome its fragmentation; and, Use platforms for health and support health in all settings, policies and sectors. As the country experiences the double burden of both the communicable and non-communicable diseases, the WHO CCS for 2017-2022 is expected to provide the support to ensure that the Philippines’ quest for sustainable and meaningful health sector reforms will be achieved. com/ PN)
(jaypeeyap@ymail.