ADB OKs $600-M loan for universal health care in Philippines

Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Friday it has approved a $600-million policy-based loan to support the Philippines’ implementation of the universal health care (UHC) program.

In a statement, the ADB said its 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. 

“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,” said ADB director of human and social development for Southeast Asia Ayako Inagaki.

Under the law, the Philippines has automatically included all Filipinos in its National Health Insurance Program as part of its UHC reform. 

It also mobilized revenues from higher taxes on alcohol, sweetened beverages, tobacco, and heated tobacco and vapor products to help finance UHC and expand primary care services.

“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,” said ADB principal health specialist for Southeast Asia Eduardo Banzon.

The loan 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 bolster the implementation capacity of the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and strengthen collaboration with other government agencies, local government units (LGUs), and the private sector.

The program will likewise support LGUs’ efforts to expand health promotion and help improve access to health care workers and health care facilities, particularly in underserved LGUs. 

In addition to the loan, the ADB said it would administer a $2-million technical assistance grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to support the implementation of health policy reforms in LGUs. 

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

The lender said its new program is part of ADB’s 2018 to 2023 Country Partnership Strategy for the Philippines and supports its focus on increasing social investments in Filipinos from lower socioeconomic groups.

Ongoing ADB programs, projects, technical assistance, and grants in the health sector, including those started during the pandemic, complement support for the Philippines’ UHC reforms, the bank said.

Among the ADB’s ongoing loan programs are as follows:

* A $500-million loan for the Disaster Resilience Improvement Program
* A $125-million loan for the Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit COVID-19 (HEAL)
* A $400-million loan for the Second HEAL under the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility
* A $3-million grant for a new COVID-19 testing laboratory in San Fernando, Pampanga   

— VBL, GMA News