The Department of Health (DOH) announced on Friday that it had gotten the approval of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of its two major health sector initiatives.

NEDA greenlit on 16 October the Health System Resilience Project (HSRP) and the one-year extension of the implementation period of USAID-Development Objective Grant Agreement (DOAg) for Improved Health for Underserved Filipinos.

The HSRP is a five-year Project aimed at improving health services and boosting the country’s capacity to respond to health emergencies.

“This Project supports the country’s goal of improving healthcare through the 8-Point Action Agenda, which includes making healthcare accessible for all, leveraging technology for faster services, and protecting against pandemics,” the DOH stated.

With a budget of PHP 27.9 billion, the HSRP will focus on building climate-resilient provincial health systems, strengthening health emergency response systems, and advancing digital health transformation.

The Project is set to start in 2025 and end in 2029.

It will focus on 17 provinces across the country: three in Luzon (Isabela, Masbate, and Sorsogon), three in the Visayas (Iloilo, Bohol, and Leyte), and 11 in Mindanao (Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Lanao Del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Davao de Oro, Davao Del Norte, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan Del Sur, Maguindanao Del Norte, and Maguindanao Del Sur).

The second initiative, the USAID DOAg, focuses on addressing major health challenges related to logistics, access to medicines, and the shortage of qualified health professionals in underserved areas.

This initiative also aims to improve healthcare service delivery for critical health concerns, including tuberculosis (TB), family planning, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and other public health programs.

“Its primary objectives are to strengthen healthy behaviors, fortify the quality of health services delivery, and institutionalize key public health systems,” the agency said.

The approved DOAg is a one-year extension of the implementation period from 30 September to 30 September 2025 of the 2019-2024 DOAg.

“The DOH extends its gratitude to the NEDA Board led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. These new health initiatives will greatly support the vision outlined in our National Objectives for Health, consequently geared towards achieving universal health care, where all people will have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship,” DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa stated.

The NEDA Board also approved a change in the project’s scope, expanding it from 13 to 17 regions, including Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The objectives of this extension include closing gaps in family planning and in the delivery of tuberculosis services, supporting ongoing DOH health initiatives, and transitioning health activities to the new USAID-Philippines Umbrella DOAg.