A YEAR OF THE PHILIPPINE HEALTH AGENDA

Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial

This forum “Health for Juan and Juana: Moving Forward with the Philippine Health
Agenda” comes at an opportune time, as we approach the first year of the Duterte
Administration – an administration that has promised change in the way the government
serves its people, especially the poor and vulnerable. When I assumed office, the
President gave me two marching orders – wage a war against drugs and help the poor.
Today, we have indeed gone a long way in carrying out our mandate.

It is my privilege to present today the Administration’s milestones for health – a year of

the Philippine Health Agenda.

On September 15, 2016, we launched the Philippine Health Agenda 2016-2022 during
the National Health Summit. Our battle cry is “All for Health Towards Health For All”, our
way of emphasizing that health is everyone’s business, and that we cannot leave
anyone behind.

Gone were the days when important health matters are discussed only within the
confines of the Department of Health. I am very happy to see today’s forum demonstrate
this whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach towards health, as different
national government agencies, including the Department of Finance, National Economic
Development Authority, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Trade
and Industry, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Department of the
Interior and Local Government are represented in various capacities. Yet, the presence
of my predecessors and mentors reassures us of the Department of Health’s long-term
commitment to take the lead and collaborate all efforts to serve Filipino patients and their
families.

The focus of the forum, “Bringing Health to Juan and Juana: Universal Health Care in
the Communities” is also quite timely. Within a devolved system, the Department of
Health recognizes that advancing primary care necessitates that local government units
fulfill their mandate to provide quality health services to their constituents. It is promising
to know that various LGUs are participating today to share their success stories and
learn collectively from one another.

The presence of partners from the private sector, academe, and civil society
organizations is also reassuring, as it affirms that many are committed to ensure that
“Health For All” - “Health for every Juan and Juana” - is made a reality.
The Philippine Health Agenda and Prioritizing Primary Care

Under the Philippine Health Agenda, our goals are to ensure that all Filipinos, especially
the poor, are protected from the high cost of healthcare; that all Filipinos attain the best
possible health outcomes with no disparity; and that all Filipinos feel respected, valued,
and empowered in all their interactions with the health system. We aspire for a health
system that is equitable and inclusive to all, efficient, transparent and accountable, and
that which provides high quality services.

We commit to three guarantees: 1) providing health services for all life stages and the
triple burden of disease, including communicable, non-communicable, and diseases of
rapid urbanization and industrialization; 2) a functional service delivery network of health
facilities; and 3) universal health insurance to grant Filipinos financial freedom when
accessing services.

To achieve our goals and guarantees, we have devised the ACHIEVE strategy, which
stands for:
● Advance health promotion, primary care, and quality,
● Cover all Filipinos against financial health risk,
● Harness the power of strategic HRH,
● Invest in eHealth and data for decision-making,
● Enforce standards, accountability, and transparency,
● Value clients and patients, and
● Elicit multi-stakeholder support for health.

The value of advancing health promotion and primary care cannot be emphasized
enough. This starts from something as fundamental as improving people’s health-
seeking behaviors and empowering them, so that they can take charge of their own
health. We want people to stay healthy first and foremost. We want people to change
their lifestyles. On our part, we have to provide an enabling environment that will allow
them to do that easily. This also prompts us to go back to the ‘basics’ of public health -
clean water, hygiene, sanitation, and addressing other social determinants of health. We
are working closely with Congress on a Health Promotion Bill to make sure this happens.

When it comes to a good primary care system, we have much to learn from our LGUs.
Existing LGU models show how political will and leadership can make all the difference
in creating equitable and responsive local health systems. Health can be prioritized in
the allocation of the IRA. If a local chief executive is resourceful enough, partners can be
mobilized to generate additional resources to improve health infrastructure and facilities.
Support for the poor and marginalized can also be institutionalized by maximizing
PhilHealth and providing additional subsidies for medical assistance. Some LGUs have
also adopted a “healthy cities approach”, placing health in the agenda of all offices in the
LGU. I am sure that our mayors and governors can tell you more about their success
stories later throughout the programme.
Philippine Health Agenda Milestones

I am happy to share the following achievements:

● With the passage of the Sin Tax Law, resources for health have increased
significantly. From 86.97 Billion in 2015, the health budget grew to 122.63 Billion
in 2016.
● 92% of the population or 93.45 Million principal members and dependents are
now covered by PhilHealth. As of 2015, benefit payments have increased to 97
billion from less than 24 billion in 2010. Support value has increased to 56%,
meaning more than half of a member’s health expenditures is now covered by
PhilHealth.
● In terms of health outcomes:
○ We have been on-track with our goal to lower infant mortality rates and
under-five mortality rate, at 21 per 1,000 live births and 27 per 1,000 live
births respectively. More than 80% of children are fully-immunized, with
73% measles vaccine coverage. 55% of infants are also exclusively
breastfed until 6 months.
○ In 2015, Regions I and CAR were able to attain the target of less than 52
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
○ We have been successful at treating Tuberculosis, with a 92% TB
Success Rate. We have declared 32 areas as malaria-free, and 34 areas
as filaria-free.
○ More than 400,000 patients are listed in the Diabetes and Hypertension
Club registry, and we continue to provide complete treatment packs for
these diseases through the Maintenance Medicine Access Program.
● I am proud to say that we also have gains in curbing tobacco smoking. As of
2015, the prevalence of non-smokers has increased to 63.7% from 54.3% in
2008, while the prevalence of those presently smoking declined from 31.0% in
2008 to 23.3% in 2008. Daily cigarette consumption has also declined.
● The Department of Health continues to support the upgrading of health facilities
across the nation, especially in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged
Areas. For instance, the people of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao now have access
to their first CT scan in the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital. Since 2010, we
have enhanced 2,862 barangay health stations, 2,626 RHUs and urban health
centers, 685 LGU hospitals, and 70 hospitals. 348 mobile dental clinics have also
been deployed, and 3,200 school-based barangay health stations are now under
construction.
● From 2010-2015, more than 92,000 health workers were deployed by the DOH.
In 2016 alone, we deployed 373 doctors, 291 dentists, 1,513 public health
associates, 16,200 nurses, 386 medical technologists, and 4,111 midwives.
● A number of health promotion campaigns have been launched to fight highly-
prevalent diseases.
Closing Remarks

Many challenges lie ahead of us, but it is through discussions like this that I gain
confidence in our collective strength. For one, we have journeyed the path to Universal
Healthcare and we are few steps closer to attaining it. Under the Duterte Administration,
we are moving to institutionalize Universal Healthcare as the more holistic, sustainable
approach to make health a reality for all Filipinos. I sincerely thank our lawmakers,
particularly Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and
House Committee on Health Chair Rep. Angelina Tan who are present in today’s forum
for championing health at Congress.

I would like to commend the Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Association of the Philippines,
Asian Development Bank, Zuellig Family Foundation, Asian Institute of Management,
US-ASEAN Business Council, QuintilesIMS, Medicines Transparency Alliance,
HealthPRx, HAVAS Life, and other partners, including the World Health Organization, for
your efforts to bring all of us together in this meaningful dialogue, a dialogue that would
translate to impactful actions necessary to achieve mid- and long term development for
the country.

Indeed, all for health towards health for all!