Administered by the World Bank, the grant will target the provinces of Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Southern Leyte, Romblon, Misamis Occidental and Nueva Vizcaya to support activities set forth in their province-wide investment plans for the health sector.

These plans would include, among others, financing health care services and health insurance, upgrading services of public health facilities at all levels, and improving the quality, accessibility and safety of pharmaceuticals.

The grant will also help improve governance in the health sector to ensure efficient mobilization and management of resources.

Through training, technical assistance and computer hardware and software, the grant will help strengthen the capacity of the DoH in the area of public financial management, internal audit, information management, procurement and performance monitoring using local government unit scorecards.

Joachim von Amsberg, Country Director for the World Bank in the Philippines, has lauded the efforts of the Department of Health in crafting and implementing a health sector reform agenda, which development partners are keen to support.

"As gleaned from the March 2007 Philippines Development Forum, the health sector is a priority area for many development partners engaged in the country, and we are encouraged that we can provide coordinated support under a common framework," Von Amsberg said.

Von Amsberg also commended the EC not only for financing the grant but for being instrumental in moving the health policy reform dialogue forward, as co-lead convenor of the Philippines Development Forum (PDF) working group for the health sector. The EC is also giving a grant to 10 other provinces via budgetary support.

He noted that improving investments in human resources, particularly through better access of the poor to basic health services, is among the key components of the World Bank’s strategy for the Philippines.

The World Bank is also providing US$ 110 million program support for strategic priorities of the DoH within the national budget, as well as US$ 16 million for the Second Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood project.

"The grant is a critical component that will have a wide-reaching impact on the health sector reform agenda. It is a milestone as it allows the implementation of the health sector reforms under the FOURmula One for Health in the spirit of the Sector Development Approach for Health (SDAH)," said Virginia Ala, Director of Bureau of International Health Cooperation of the DoH.

Under a sector development approach, government and its development partners complement, rather than duplicate, each other’s efforts towards implementing reforms in four areas: health financing, health regulation, health service delivery and good governance—which the label FOURmula One for Health refers to.

"The World Bank and the European Commission are the first of our development partners that we can truly call SDAH partners," she said.

The European Commission and the WB have reaffirmed their commitment to support the government’s Health Sector Reform

Programme which is pursuant to the achievement of the country’s Millennium Development Goals on health.

The grant is expected to accelerate the implementation of the health sector reform program at the central and local levels and will help provide access to

essential health services by the poor in the six recipient provinces and in the DoH", said Frank Hess, Chargé d’ Affaires, Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines.