OVERVIEW
 
The Philippines is challenged by high rates of maternal mortality, infant mortality, malnutrition, and tuberculosis (TB). HIV prevalence remains low, but there is a spike in prevalence among the most-at-risk-populations. The rate of population growth, estimated at 1.9 percent in 2010, remains one of the highest in Southeast Asia. At the same time, the documented gap between actual fertility (3.3 children per woman) versus wanted fertility (2.4 children per woman) signals a significant unmet need for family planning information, services and commodities.
 
USAID seeks the enhanced capacity of the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH), provinces, cities, municipalities and the private sector to provide quality health services. All USAID activities support the Philippine government's Universal Health Care agenda and are implemented through a bilateral assistance agreement with the DOH. USAID-supported programs focus on improving the promotion of and access to maternal and child health, family planning services, tuberculosis treatment, and HIV/AIDS prevention services.
 
IMPROVING THE SUPPLY OF INTEGRATED FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES. USAID works to increase the availability and accessibility of quality health services by helping the public sector become more efficient and effective, while simultaneously seeking opportunities to strengthen the quality of private sector providers and draw them into an expanded primary care role. USAID focuses on strategic integration of family planning with maternal and child health services, scaling-up of internationally accepted best practices, and helping the DOH roll-out its policies to key underserved areas. USAID will scale up access to quality Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) services to treat TB patients in both the public and private sectors and will seek to improve referrals between private practitioners, pharmacies and the public sector to strengthen participation in TB management and control.
 
DEVELOPING HEALTHY BEHAVIORS AND PRACTICES. Communication plays an integral part in an effective response to health challenges. USAID works with health officials and health service providers to inform the public and educate individuals about appropriate health practices, signs and symptoms of common health disorders, availability of health services, and national and local health policies. USAID mobilizes local NGOs and sectoral groups to help generate demand for health information and services from communities. At the same time, USAID advocates with policy- and decision-makers for program and policy support for health.
 
IMPROVING HEALTH POLICIES AND SYSTEMS. The Philippine government has established national policies on maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition as well as a government strategy and action plan to address tuberculosis. USAID works to ensure that national level strategies and policies are effectively developed with local input and disseminated to communities for implementation. USAID supports the elimination of policy barriers to the supply and demand of family health services. Much of USAID’s policy reform work focuses on securing long-term, sustainable financing for the health sector at the local government level and building the capacity of local governments for health planning, financing, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation.