EU gives 36 million euro for PH health program

MANILA, Philippines—The European Union has given 36 million euros for the second phase of the Health Sector Policy Support Program (HSPSP II) following its recent launch at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Alistair MacDonald of the European Union to the Philippines said the program is a reaffirmation of EU’s commitments to continue to improve the health status of the country’s poor, underserved, and disadvantaged populations through a more effective and equitable health system, and at the same time contribute to the attainment of health-related Millennium Development Goals, particularly MDG’s 4 and 5 with regard to maternal and child health.

HSPSP II is a continuation of the ongoing EU support to the health sector implementation due for completion this month. It aims to ensure continuous and strategic implementation of the reform agenda. Further it seeks to address the weaknesses of the current health system, more specifically for the poor who rely on public facilities for both curative and preventive services.

HSPSP II will be implemented through the modality of Sector Budget Support (SBS), combined with a policy dialogue around the objectives supported by the program. The European Union will provide a maximum of 36 million euro (or P2.12 billion) grant funding to the operation phase of the program, which will run for a period of 48 months.

Program implementation will be the responsibility of the Department of Health in coordination with key relevant stakeholders, in particular the provincial and municipal governments, which are responsible for the delivery of basic health services.

Major health improvements have been evident in the Philippines during the last few decades but progress has slowed down during 1990’s and there remain large variations in the health of different income groups and between urban and rural areas and specific health problems facing different regions of the country.

In response to these challenges, DoH adopted in 1999 the Health Sector Reform Agenda (HSRA), as a major policy framework and strategy to improve health care delivery, regulation, and financing and to achieve the MDG’s.

In 2005 the HSRA was adopted and translated in an implementation framework called FOURmula One for Health (F1) 2005-2010 to speed up implementation of critical health interventions.

F1-for-Health is providing a comprehensive strategic framework aiming at attaining better health outcomes, more responsive health system, and equitable health care financing, especially for the poor through action in four areas: financing (increased, better and sustained investments in health), regulation (assure access to quality and affordable health products, devices, facilities and services), service delivery (improve accessibility and availability of health care), and governance (enhanced health system’s performance at national and local level.

The implementation of F! has gained momentum and strong stakeholder support in particular from the donor community. Since 2006, most health sector donors have increasingly focused assistance programs on the reform and have collaborated with DoH in the F1 implementation strategy. The EU and the World Bank are formally working together in support of the F1 approach, along with other donors including the Spanish Cooperation, Asian Development Bank, GTZ Philippines Development Corporation. KfW Banking Group, United States Agency for International Development, Japan International Cooperation Agency, World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, and other Un organizations. –INQUIRER.net