Aquino government to lead fight to achieve reforms in health care

MANILA, Philippines – Health Secretary Enrique Ona highlighted Thursday President Benigno Aquino III’s priority agenda for universal health care or “Kalusugang Pangkalahatan.”

Ona vigorously called for support for the President’s program during a three-day Forum and Senior Policy Seminar on Health Financing & Universal Health Care. He described as “ironic” the current situation wherein many still died “needlessly from diseases for which cures and treatments have long been discovered”, and urged various government agencies and development groups to get behind the agenda.

Ona explained that the Aquino administration’s health care agenda sought to provide financial risk protection through expansion in National Health Insurance Program enrolment and benefit delivery, improve the access to modern hospitals and health facilities, and attain health-related Millennium Development Goals which seek to provide the poor with quality health care.

The three-day event aimed to raise awareness about universal health care. International and local health care professionals gathered at the forum to share their knowledge and experience on similar health reform initiatives both here and abroad to members of various government agencies.

“Political will is the key to achieving the reforms,” declared Ona, who mentioned that many challenges surrounded the implementation of health care financing and delivery reforms.

He urged the participants of the forum to support the agenda saying “we know what to do, let’s just do it.”