Blog 6

 

Philippines 

    The Philippines is located in the South-East Asia Region. With a population of 110,054,776, this marks as the 13th most populous country in the world (WorldMeter, 2020.) One-fifth of this population live in poverty, meaning that 22,010,955 people don’t have the resources to live a healthy life (WHO, 2017.)
 

Implemented
    Regional Action Agenda on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Western Pacific aligns with existing global and regional strategies and serves as a guide to start the implications of the SDGs for national plans and priorities. This plan follows the framework of Universal Health Coverage: Moving Towards Better Health, endorsed by the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in October 2015. This aims to solve issues related to the healthcare system in countries located in the Western Pacific. Its main goals is to identify and respond to priority health needs by strengthening health systems to achieve UHC (Universal Healthcare), give more attention to the economic, environmental, political and social factors that may perpetuate ill health, especially among disadvantaged groups (WHO, 2017.)

Monitored 
    WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific has developed a Framework for monitoring SDGs and UHC in the Western Pacific Region. This framework has health-related indicators that reflect health targets under the SDG 3 health goal. To monitor the process of the SDG, each country must monitor their populations and priorities. Also, the International Health Regulations (IHR) is the legal framework to detect, prepare for and respond to public health threats and report on events that may constitute a potential public health emergency of international concern (WHO, 2017.) For the the Philippines, the government uses the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which conducts technical and multi-sectoral workshops with data producers and compilers on the SDG indicators (UN, 2019.)

Agenda Cost 

    For the Philippines’s agenda there isn't a specific number for the cost of the implementation of SDG 3. However, in total, WHO estimates that achieving the SDGs health related goals will cost up to 134-371 billion dollars a year over current health spending worldwide (IISD, 2017.) Organizations such as the UN and WHO are responsible for funding most of the global SDGs. The Philippines is the largest recipient of remittances in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is an intergovernmental organization that facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among countries in Asia. ASEAN and the Overseas Filipino Remittances for Development (OFReD) work together  to distribute funds to SDGs and to support policies that transform overseas remittances for development, savings and investments, and build a viable collective remittance fund (UN, 2019.) 

Health Issue 
   Over the years the Philippines has worked to improve its healthcare system. For example life expectancy, immunization coverage has increased and infant and under-5 mortality has decreased. Although there have been significant improvements, there are health issues that need to be addressed. Such as reducing the prevalence of tuberculosis and childhood pneumonia, preventing the spread of non-communicable diseases, and increasing the accessibility of health services (Dayrit, 2018.) 

Health Resources 
    The Philippines is a major exporter of healthcare professionals but finds it challenging to ensure adequate availability within the country. Socioeconomic disparities and maldistribution of infrastructure and human resources across and within regions affect the availability and accessibility of resources in this country (Dayrit, 2018.)
    WHO Western Pacific Region use different methods to increase fiscal space for health, including taxation and earmarking. Health promotion foundations are created to promote health and well-being and prevent disease. For the Philippines, The law mandates that 15% of revenues from  taxes on tobacco products be used for programs promoting alternatives for tobacco farmers and workers in tobacco-producing provinces. It is required that 80% of the remaining revenues be used for the UHC program under the National Health Insurance Program and 20% of medical assistance and health enhancement facilities programs (WHO, 2017.)

Addressed and Prioritized 

    Health has been a priority for many years now in the Philippines. In 1987, health became a basic human right guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution. Government facilities under the national and local governments served as the public sector in financing health services through a tax based budgeting system. (Dayrit, 2018.) The government has also partner up with the UN and WHO to create agendas and programs that would help improve the live of the people in the Philippines, not only when it comes to health but also to improve peace, justice, and strong institution, to end inequality by being part of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, which is an agenda that fights to end poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030 world-wide (UN, 2019.)

References

Dayrit, M. (2018.). The Philippines Health System Review. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/274579/9789290226734-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

International Institute for Sustainable Development. (2017). WHO Estimates Cost of Reaching SDG Health Targets: News: SDG Knowledge Hub: IISD. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://sdg.iisd.org/news/who-estimates-cost-of-reaching-sdg-health-targets/

United Nations. (2019). Philippines .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/philippines

United Nations (2019). The 2019 Voluntary National Review of the Philippines. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/23366Voluntary_National_Review_2019_Philippines.pdf

World Health Organization. (2017). Regional action agenda on achieving the sustainable development goals in the Western Pacific. https://iris.wpro.who.int/handle/10665.1/13553