ADB provides P48 billion health financing

The Philippine government has signed a JPY119.745-billion (around P48 billion) financing agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s universal health care system and expanding access to quality health services, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Friday.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go signed the agreement for the Build Universal Health Care Program–Subprogram 3 (BUHC3), which will focus on health financing, service delivery, and information management and accountability across the health system.

“[W]e are making a long-term investment in the country’s human capital and resilience. With the support of our development partners, we can advance reforms that will build a stronger, more responsive health system, and better equip it to serve Filipinos,” Go said.

The DOF said the program will support reforms in three areas: sustainable financing and strategic purchasing for universal health care; integrated delivery of quality health services; and information management and performance accountability.

It will also cover reforms addressing gender-specific health concerns and the health impacts of climate change.

ADB in August increased financing for Subprogram 3 by $250 million to $750 million as oil price and supply shocks widened the government’s financing needs. The increase draws on up to $1.75 billion in additional crisis support offered by ADB President Masato Kanda to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in May. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is providing about $188 million in parallel cofinancing, up from the original $130 million.

Kanda said the effects of the conflict can reach households through higher medicine prices and pressure on essential services.

“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,” Kanda said. “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.”

The health program has supported universal enrollment in PhilHealth, while household out-of-pocket health spending declined from 48.8 percent in 2019 to 42.7 percent in 2024, according to ADB.

BUHC3 builds on the gains of the first two subprograms and uses a programmatic approach to support the implementation of health policy reforms at the national and local levels.

The program will be implemented by the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.