Press Release | February 12, 2025

The Department of Health (DOH), in partnership with the Philippine Country Coordinating Mechanism for the Global Fund (PCCM-GF), assures the public that it has been identifying various sources of domestic financing to address the overall projected funding gap in HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis programs.

The DOH is optimizing public financial management strategies to ensure the sustainability of critical health programs through a Transition and Public Financial Management (PFM) Plan. This plan aims to increase domestic health financing by mobilizing PhilHealth reimbursements, optimizing DOH budget utilization, and securing alternative funding sources such as grants, loans, and investments from local government units (LGUs) and the private sector.

During the PCCM-GF meeting today, it was reported that the decline in foreign fund allocations for the Philippines may pose significant challenges, as the country uses the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) for essential commodities such as second-line drugs (SLDs), antiretroviral therapy (ART), and human resources for health (HRH).

The DOH and PCCM-GF readily identified an initial list of alternative sources to the foreign funds. The Transition and PFM plan sees steps like procurement and supply chain reforms (especially with the New Government Procurement Act or RA 12009), digitalizing financial management systems like the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS), and leveraging financing mechanisms to improve budget execution. Additionally, the Transition and PFM plan seeks to enhance localized health program implementation given the country’s devolved health system, by supporting LGUs in the procurement and delivery of essential health commodities.

“It is clear that governments including ours must recognize our own priorities and take more responsibility for financing these priorities in our national health budgets, lessening our dependence on international funding cycles and external decisions and protocols. Increasing domestic financing is one of the most sustainable solutions. We, as a country, must find ways to source funds that international partners have previously funded,” said Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa.