Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $600-million policy-based loan to support the Philippines’ implementation of the universal health care (UHC) program.
The ADB’s Build Universal Health Care loan program seeks to support the Philippine government’s initiatives to improve the financing and delivery of health services and implement measures to monitor the performance of health service providers.
This is in line with the Universal Health Care Act to ensure all Filipinos have equitable access to quality health services and avoid high out-of-pocket health expenses, media reports said.
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“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing constraints in the country’s health care service delivery, which the government sought to address in its pandemic health response. This program seeks 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 across the country,” ADB director of human and social development for Southeast Asia Ayako Inagaki was quoted as saying.
Under the law, the Philippines has automatically included all Filipinos in its National Health Insurance Program as part of its UHC reform. (AW)
