MANILA — In light of what he deemed as growing “nationalistic and individualistic idealism” spreading worldwide, Department of Health (DOH) chief Teodoro Herbosa said the country’s health initiatives should not be reliant on international donors.
Herbosa made this statement during the first Philippine Country Coordinating Mechanism for the Global Fund (PCCM-GF) held on Wednesday to address the overall projected funding gap in programs about HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
“With growing nationalistic and individualistic idealism spreading across countries, the responsibility to fund health initiatives cannot fall solely on international donors,” Herbosa said.
The administration of American President Donald Trump ordered the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, which runs health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, including the Philippines.
Washington is the biggest aid donor in the world, and Manila has received over $5 billion worth of assistance, particularly in healthcare and disaster response, since USAID’s founding in 1961.
Herbosa said the country “must find ways to source funds that international partners have previously funded.”
The DOH and PCCM-GF readily identified an initial list of alternative sources to the foreign funds, according to him.
“Now, it is clear that governments, including ours, must recognize our own priorities and take more responsibility for financing these priorities in our national health budgets, lessening our dependence on international funding cycles and external decisions and protocols,” Herbosa noted.
“International financing, though crucial, cannot be relied upon indefinitely,” Herbosa continued. “Sole reliance on external aid is not a sustainable financing model.” (John Eric Mendoza © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
