ADB, WHO to boost ties for healthcare

TOP - ment Bank (ADB) and the World Health Organization ( WHO) recently met to discuss ways to strengthen their collaboration in supporting global efforts to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and better health for their populations.

In the meeting were ADB President Takehiko Nakao, newly appointed Regional Director of WHO Western Pacific Regional

Director of the WHO South East Asia Regional Office Poonam Khetrapal Singh.

“ADB’s new long-term strategic framework Strategy 2030 and its

are fully aligned with the sustainable development goals and the global call for UHC,” said Nakao.

“We look forward to working together with WHO to help achieve UHC, increase health security against pandemics through surveillance and laboratory support, and improve urban health, elderly care, and climate change impacts

added Nakao.

ADB said it expected to increase its investments in health projects and health components of multisectoral projects that would enable

maintain UHC.

It said these investments may be informed and reinforced by WHO technical advice and support, coordinated under the ADB–WHO memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in September 2018.

The MOU calls for ADB and WHO to conduct joint policy analysis and research, collaborate on the production and sharing of knowledge products through seminars and conferences, and strengthen international and regional networks, among others.

“The collaboration between ADB and WHO could work to improve the health and well-being of people, particularly through

- tion such as supporting universal health coverage, including affordability and accessibility of medical products, enhancing human resources for health, improving primary health care infrastructure, and strengthening disaster preparedness and response,” Singh said.

“We look forward to the development of results-oriented action plans to implement the ADB– WHO MOU,” added Singh.

Kasai on the other hand said there was a need to focus on health care as populations are getting older and non- communicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise. He noted that in the Asia and the

quality health care is still low.

“These are key challenges on which we’ll work with ADB and focus our support to countries over the coming 5 years,” said Kasai.

In the case of the Philippines, ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono earlier said the direct medical cost of diabetes which is one of the NCDs, was estimated at P38.2 billion in 2015. He said this would severely affect economic growth and drive people into poverty because of lost jobs and the cost of chronic treatment.

ADB loan and grant commitments in the health sector totaled $516 million for 13 projects last year. The projects included support for enhancing provinciallevel health services in Papua New Guinea; the integration of maternal and child health services in Tajikistan; strengthening of health systems in Bhutan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka; and investments in private hospitals that expand access to low-cost quality maternity care in Indonesia.

This year, ADB said it expected commitments of more than $700 million for health projects. These would include strengthening local health systems in Viet Nam; establishing digital health systems in Tonga; piloting elderly care interventions in the People’s Republic of China; and supporting health

- nia.

company performance vis- à- vis the standards set by the Exchange,” PSE President Ramon Monzon said.

“In turn, these indices represent the investment opportunities in the Philippine stock market,” he added.