USAID, DOH launch P750-M project to strengthen PH health workforce

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday announced that it has launched a five-year P750-million project to help strengthen the Philippine health workforce.

The project, titled “Human Resources for Health in 2030 (HRH2030), aims to help the Department of Health (DOH) strengthen the development, deployment, training, and management of health workers in the country.

It also intends to improve equity, access, and quality of family planning, maternal and child health, and tuberculosis services in the Philippines.

“Through your commitment, and our work together, we are confident that the Philippines will continue to build a strong and resilient health system,” a statement quoted USAID mission director Lawrence Hardy II as telling DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III.

According to the USAID, about 30,000 medical doctors, nurses, dentists, medical technologists and midwives were serving about 106 million Filipinos in urban and rural communities.

“These health workers are not equally distributed across the country and possess widely divergent skills,” Hardy said.

“USAID’s HRH2030 project will address this disparity by building the capacity of the DOH to train, deploy, and manage health workers, ultimately expanding access to quality family planning, maternal and child health, and tuberculosis services for vulnerable populations,” he added.

DOH Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo said their agency “intends to accelerate reforms for service delivery to create demand for a holistic client experience.”

“In addition, we are working to address maldistribution of human resources for health in the country, especially in underserved areas,” the DOH official said. /ee