House panel OKs creation of National Health Security Council

House of Representatives. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on health on Tuesday approved a bill that seeks to create a National Health Security Council that would formulate an emergency plan to handle public health emergencies.

The panel approved the still unnumbered substitute bill for measures providing national health security, strengthening national preparedness and response to public health emergencies and establishing a national public health emergency council.

Under the bill, the National Health Security Council will be tasked to draft a health security national action plan — a country owned, multi-year, planning process that can accelerate the implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR) core capacities.

“It captures national priorities for health security, brings sectors together, identifies partners and allocates resources for health security capacity development,” panel chair Helen Tan said during a virtual meeting.

“It also serves as an overarching process to capture all ongoing preparedness initiatives along with the country’s governance mechanisms for emergency and disaster risk management,” she added.

Among the members of the PHSC are the Secretaries of government agencies, Executive Secretary, Press Secretary, Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Security Adviser, Chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, and President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines

Also among the National Health Security Council’s functions are strengthening the partnership with foreign and international organizations, formulation of guidelines and policies for the effective implementation of the national health security plan and strengthening of public health emergency preparedness.

JPV