Philippines

In the Philippines, SIMASHE began with efforts to promote equity in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, targeting disadvantaged groups, such as people experiencing homelessness and survivors of gender-based violence. Information about equity barriers led to greater awareness of the impact of equity on health. This attention to equity resulted in improved vaccine coverage and reduced access barriers in Manila city. Building on this foundation, SIMASHE expanded to strengthen primary health care services for older adults in Maguindanao, within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), using a multilevel engagement strategy to foster trust, stimulate dialogue and inform policy. A provincial survey on the social determinants of barriers to health care access for older adults informed the development of a three-year action plan for senior citizens’ health and well-being, including local policy directives and complementary initiatives such as agricultural sustainability and traditional medicine. In 2023, the country team also piloted an intervention in Tolosa, Leyte, to integrate social and environmental determinants in preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases, using a health promotion settings’ approach. Initial efforts focused on community-based improvements such as hygiene, physical activity, smoke-free environments and food access, laying the groundwork for a more comprehensive SDH-based strategy to be developed in 2025.

Country achievement highlights

1. Equitable COVID-19 vaccine rollout, focusing on the most excluded groups, centred on individuals experiencing homelessness, leading to relaxation of residence registration requirements and increased vaccination coverage in Manila.
2. In 2022, a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving vaccination rates and health care access for older adults was launched in the province of Maguindana, in BARMM, utilizing a four-level engagement strategy to foster trust and dialogue.
3. Local policy directives supporting senior citizens; inclusion of personal protective apparels in the 2023 Annual Investment Plan; and development of the Provincial Senior Citizens Plan and initiatives on agricultural sustainability and integrative medicine.
   

Main activities 2025–2028

• The Philippines is working nationally to strengthen resources for capacity building – in particular, strengthening civil society and for creating showcase events to promote the conditions for networks of equity pioneers and champions. The country office and social determinants team will support selected subnational regions in establishing an intersectoral and participatory regional and provincial governance and planning structure, to address the social determinants of health equity (SDHE). Adapting the learnings from the work in Tolosa can create a movement across regional and provincial governments to build planning structures that help to integrate SDHE considerations into policy and development planning.
• The country aims to strengthen national health policy assessment to include equity gap analysis and to support the national policy dialogue.
• A series of SDH capacity-building workshops targeting national and local stakeholders will be developed and in-depth implementation advanced. This will lead to an SDHE summit that will include discussion of the world report.
• The Philippines will develop and pilot a guide for Local Government Units on strategies for addressing the social determinants of health, drawing from the world report, and contribute to the development of WHO guidance on strategies for addressing SDHE.
• A set of key advocacy and campaign materials on learnings and results from the country experience in implementing the Special Initiative will be developed for wider visibility, using social media platforms, videos and infographics.
• Various documents will be developed to describe the Philippines’ experience, for use at intraregional and interregional knowledge exchange opportunities, where participants will to share lessons and learn from other stakeholders.