EC gives P 140M grant to Pangasinan for HealthGov

LINGAYEN--- The European Commission (EC), the world’s renowned funding institution, would be giving out a total of P140 million grant to the province of Pangasinan for five years up to 2010.

Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, in his speech during the opening of the two-day Pangasinan Health Summit, noted the efforts of the provincial government for making health care as its priority program.

“These sustained efforts have enabled us to channel more budgetary support for the province of Pangasinan,” Alistair stressed as he also recognized the province’s sustained good public finance management status.

“I salute the work of the province of Pangasinan not only in promoting effective and inclusive public health care across the province but also of its stable and good public-finance management which made our projects run smoothly,” he said.

The EC has started its development partnership with the Philippines in 1995 through the Department of Health carrying with a mission to strengthen health care across the country with Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood Program as its pioneer project.

He said that Pangasinan was among the 16 provinces in the country that benefitted from the P3 billion grant under the EC’s Health Sector Policy Support Programme, in support of the Department of Health’s FOURmula One for Health Strategy.

Alistair said the provincial government of Pangasinan under the leadership of Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. has already installed the “best health strategy” by way of identifying the “indigents” and have them enrolled in Philhealth.

“This is the best way to reach out the needy which gives them a great privilege to have a free access to quality health care services and facilities,” he stressed.

For her part, Dr. Aye Aye Thwin of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has commended the LGUs and local executives for joining in the health summit

“This summit is being made to jumpstart major initiatives of the province, cities and municipalities in strengthening their various roles and responsibilities to ensure continued health improvement for the people of Pangasinan,” she said.

Working on in Pangasinan since 1975, the USAID has been in the forefront in providing technical assistance to the province’s health care providers especially on maternal and neo-natal health care, tuberculosis, family planning, and child care programs.

Likewise, Dr. Thwin had congratulated the executive and legislative officials along with mayors and vice-mayors for supporting health services improvement by giving budget allocation to support these programs.

“With collaborative efforts among health stakeholders, it will not be long in coming when Pangasinan realizes its vision of being the best place to invest, to work, to live and raise a family,” she said reechoing Gov. Espino’s core vision for Pangasinan.

The 2nd Pangasinan Health Summit with a theme “Good Governance Leads to Good Health, Good Health is Good Governance” was facilitated by the Provincial Health Office headed by Dr. Jackson Soriano.

Held in Clark, Pampanga, the summit was attended by municipal mayors and vice mayors, municipal health officers, Sangguniang Bayan chairman on health, non-government organizations, coordinators of inter-local health zones, and chiefs of hospitals.

It was well-represented by the executive and legislative branch headed by Gov. Espino, Vice Gov. Marlyn-Primicias Agabas, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and departments heads. (Merly R. Tibalao/PIO)