Improving the delivery of health services is critical to fighting poverty. The Philippines has been challenged by inadequate access to health services. Complicating these difficulties are large geographic disparities in access to health information and services. In fiscal year 2011, USG assistance:

  • Increased the actual number of deliveries assisted by skilled birth attendants by 6 percent and facility-based deliveries by 10 percent in USG-assisted sites
  • Increased modern method contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) by a range of one to 44 percent between 2006 and 2011 in 12 of 30 USG sites
  • Contributed to reaching 7.8 million people with family planning and maternal and child health messages through the Department of Health communication campaign on birth spacing
  • Oriented a total of 1,369 private physicians on the International Standards for TB care and DOTS referral, who were able to report 2,095 TB cases. Trained a total of 5,516 public and private health providers on various DOTS courses
  • Strengthened the participation of community based organizations on TB education and as treatment support groups, who helped nearly 190,000 TB symptomatic to seek consultation
  • Reached over 31,000 most-at-risk populations (MARPs) with HIV/AIDS prevention messages and counseling throughout all 11 USG-supported HIV sites
  • Tested a new mobile technology-related initiative called “SMS4MSM” (short message service for males having sex with males) in partnership with the Social Hygiene Clinic of Quezon City
  • Assisted all 30 USG-assisted provinces to have approved Annual Operations Plans (AOPs) for health, with total allocated budget of $1.4M for FP/MCH commodities alone, in addition to the $5.4m FP/MNCHN grants from the national government
  • Completed in 603 out of 684 USG-assisted sites, the data cleaning and updating for essential indicators such as contraceptive prevalence rate, antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and facility based deliveries, fully immunized children, exclusive breastfeeding and Vitamin A supplementation