‘Health funding way below WHO recommendation’

A group of doctors and health workers said yesterday that the government’s health budget is a far cry from the budget recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the country.

Dr. Gene Nisperos, secretary general of the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), said the WHO proposes that five percent of a country’s Gross National Product (GNP) should be earmarked for health services.

"But the budget of the Department of Health (DOH) is a measly P10 billion. If we follow the WHO’s recommendation, it should be P86 billion," he noted.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III admitted that the budget is not enough to improve the delivery of health services in the country, especially now that doctors are migrating abroad.

The agency is seeking an increase of at least P4 billion in its budget next year.

Nisperos added that the government should increase the DOH’s budget by more than P4 billion to encourage doctors to serve in local hospitals again.

"Thousands of doctors and nurses are leaving our hospitals to work abroad for better compensation and much better working conditions, which they cannot have here," Nisperos said.

The government, he added, should realign its budget for the military and debt servicing to health because it is more important.

"The exodus of our health human resource is brought about by a health-care system that does not provide for their welfare and well being... Such is the current state of the Philippine health-care system," Nisperos said. — Sheila Crisostomo