Philippines receives €2.3-M grant from EU for COVID-19 pandemic response, preparedness

The Philippines on Monday received a €2.3-million (P133-million) grant from the European Union for pandemic response and preparedness initiatives.

The grant, given to the World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines, will be used to assist the Department of Health in grappling with the COVID-19 crisis.

The EU and WHO earlier teamed up to provide a pandemic response and preparedness grant to eight Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.

“This is a €20-million grant over a three-year period and as part of that grant, the Philippines will receive €2.3 million,” WHO Philippine country representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said in a ceremony.

Abeyasinghe said the WHO aims to support the Philippine government not only in combating the coronavirus pandemic but also in building “resilient, strong health systems that are strong enough and capable to deal with future outbreaks and pandemics.”

“This grant will help strengthen diagnostic capacity, epidemiological surveillance, contact tracing and management, improving clinical management outcomes, appropriate risk comms, and, of course, facilitating equitable vaccine distribution,” he said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III also said the Philippines will receive technical assistance with its COVID-19 vaccination program.

This will cover cold chain logistics management, demand generation, risk communications, and the integration of a pandemic response into the local health systems.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron and several other envoys of European nations also repeatedly stressed that “no one is safe until everybody is safe” as they vowed support for the country’s vaccination program.

Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte accused the EU of holding AstraZeneca vaccines hostage. 

He later expressed readiness to work with the EU after the bloc clarified that its ban on the exportation of COVID-19 vaccines does not cover the Philippines. 

The Philippines has received 525,600 AstraZeneca doses donated by the EU and several other countries.  — RSJ, GMA News