The Department of Health on Thursday assured the public that its delivery of services for different health conditions of Filipinos remains unimpeded despite the suspension of foreign aid from the United States.
DOH Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Albert Domingo said Secretary Teodoro Herbosa has been facilitating multilateral arrangements with various countries to “support health systems strengthening activities towards universal health care for many conditions of Filipinos.”
“The delivery of health services by DOH and the expansion of PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) benefit packages continues unimpeded,” he added.
US President Donald Trump ordered a pause to review aid allocations, prompting the State Department to temporarily halt all foreign assistance, including distribution of drugs for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria and tuberculosis.
Meanwhile, the UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) welcomed Wednesday the Emergency Humanitarian Waiver signed by State Secretary Marco Rubio which allows people to continue accessing HIV treatment funded by the US across 55 countries.
More than 20 million people living with HIV are directly supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – the world’s leading HIV initiative. (PNA)