Manila—The United States government provided nearly P3.7 million ($66,500) in funding and technical assistance to support the launch of four digital platforms that help promote family planning and address teenage pregnancies in the Philippines.

As part of its ReachHealth program, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) formally introduced the four platforms during the Innovation Accelerator Impact Showcase held on February 21 in Makati City. These innovators are: CareGo EMR, which developed an SMS communication system to notify the public about free and available family planning, reproductive, and maternal health services; Edukasyon.ph, which developed Turn You On 2.0, a one-stop shop for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education for Filipino Gen Z youth; FriendlyCare Foundation, which developed the e-Plano App to provide easy access to family planning methods through digital booking, education, and consultation; and Yaka.ph, a digital baby book and online community for mothers and families seeking more information on pregnancy and postpartum family planning.

With the assistance of Villgro Philippines and the Duke University Global Health Innovation Center, the four developers received six months of intensive support that prepared their respective applications for market release. Following their formal launch, these platforms may be used by local governments and government health agencies to promote family planning resources and services for the public.

Each platform is aligned with the priorities of the Department of Health (DOH), the Commission on Population and Development, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to provide more reliable, affordable, and accessible family planning commodities and services.

“We are happy to see the innovation ecosystem in the Philippines starting to engage in family planning and adolescent reproductive health issues,” said USAID Philippines Office of Health Director Michelle Lang-Alli. “USAID is committed to helping countries meet the family planning and reproductive health needs of their people. “

For her part, Philippines DOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Beverly Ho encouraged innovators to bravely pursue and scale up their family planning solutions. “We are talking about 60 percent of 110 million Filipinos who are not be able to pay for services on their own, so we have to find ways to work on that,” she said. “This is why it is important for us to come together and build connections so that we can know who is doing what and support each other.”(PR)

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released the 2023 Cancer Assistance Fund (CAF) amounting to P500 million to the Department of Health (DOH).
The amount is part of the DBM’s comprehensive fund releases at the start of the year.

According to DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, this is an affirmation of the government’s commitment to boost the health and welfare of Filipinos suffering from cancer.

“For many years, cancer has been one of the leading causes of death in the country. Sadly, Filipino families, even those in the upper-income brackets, are vulnerable to catastrophic health spending due to high treatment costs and limited coverage of cancer care under public programs. Based on 2019 estimates, around 60 percent of the total public cancer expenditures comes from out-of-pocket payments and private insurance. Naiintindihan kong mabigat ‘yon sa bulsa at balikat ng ating mga kababayan,” said Secretary Pangandaman.

The CAF aims to complement and supplement existing financial support mechanisms for various cancer care and control services that are not yet covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and only partially covered by Malasakit Program.

“I hope we are able to shine a ray of hope to every Filipino battling the disease—the DBM is behind you and wants to give you a fighting chance,” Sec. Pangandanan added.

The fund will defray outpatient and inpatient cancer control services, including but not limited to, diagnostics, therapeutic procedures, and other cancer medicines needed for the treatment and management of cancer and its care-related components.

In addition, the CAF includes funding the needed diagnostics and laboratories in relation to eight priority cancer types.

These are breast cancer; childhood cancers; gynecologic cancers; liver cancer, including colorectal and other digestive tract cancers; adult blood cancers; head and neck cancers, including thyroid; lung cancer; and prostate, renal, and urinary bladder cancer.

In 2022, the DBM released P529.2 million for the CAF, P230.8 million of which was utilized by the DOH. The balance of P298.4 million may still be used until the end of 2023.
The execution of 2023 CAF will be based on the new guidelines to be released soon by the DBM and the DOH. (PR)