MANILA – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a USD750-million loan to help the Philippines expand its universal healthcare program.
In a statement posted on its website Tuesday, ADB said the amount will fund the subprogram 3 of the Build Universal Health Care Program.
ADB said the financing for the program was increased by USD250 million as oil price and supply shocks widened the government’s financing needs.
The expansion draws on the up to USD1.75 billion in additional support ADB President Masato Kanda offered President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in May.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is providing about USD188 million in parallel cofinancing, also up from the original USD130 million.
ADB said the program aims to improve equitable access to quality health services for all Filipinos, including services responsive to women’s health needs and the health impacts driven by extreme weather.
Subprogram 3 supports the universal enrollment in PhilHealth.
It has expanded PhilHealth benefit packages to cover primary care, emergency services and additional medicines; increased no-copayment beds in public and private facilities; and deployed mobile health units, emergency medical assistance teams, and community health teams under PuroKalusugan in underserved areas.
“Conflict does not have to cross a border to enter a family’s home. It arrives in the price of medicine and in whether the lights stay on. ADB is acting so Filipinos can get the health care they need, and people in Maldives can count on electricity and water, even as a distant crisis drives up costs,” Kanda said. (PNA)
