Finance Secretary Frederick Go has signed a P48-billion financing agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to fund the third phase of the Philippine government’s universal health care reform program.
The financing, equivalent to 119.745 billion Japanese yen and first approved in August, will support the Build Universal Health Care Program Subprogram 3 (BUHC3).
‘By signing this agreement, we are making a long-term investment in the country’s human capital and resilience,’ Go said in a statement.
According to ADB’s website, the program, which will have 14 high-impact policy actions, ‘aims to improve equitable access to quality health services while making the health system more responsive to gender-specific health concerns and the impacts of climate change.’
BUHC3 is the third phase of the program, building on reforms supported by the first two subprograms. ADB provided $600 million for the first subprogram in 2021 and $450 million for the second in 2023.
For the third phase, ADB’s loan will be supplemented by a separate $187.9-million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, equivalent to about P11.8 billion.
The financing comes as the Philippine healthcare system, ADB said, ‘continues to face inefficiencies and inequalities. Coverage of essential services remains limited, particularly in primary care, diagnostics, medicines and preventive intervention.’