PH to get P625.8M for health services, climate adaptation – Canadian minister

Reinforcing its bilateral ties with the Philippines, Canada is providing P625.8 million or CAD$15 million to strengthen the Marcos administration’s efforts to improve public health services and the country’s climate adaptation initiatives, Canada’s top development official said.

Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen said his government is committed to build on strong ties with Manila and seek ways to enhance cooperation under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, particularly on regional security, addressing climate change, protecting maritime environments, access to healthcare, and build more resilient, inclusive and prosperous societies.

“Canadian overseas development assistance is meant to be deployed in the Philippines in a manner that complements, supplements, and supports Philippine national priorities,” Hussen recently told a selected group of journalists in Manila.

On climate adaptation, Canada is providing P333.7 million or CAD$8 million over five years in grant financing to build resilience of vulnerable communities by supporting nature-based solutions – such as reforestation and coastal wetlands restoration – for climate adaptation.

The project will target six regions across the country representing key biodiversity or protected areas, Hussen said.

On health services, P292 million or CAD$7 million will be provided to the Philippines over six years in grant financing to strengthen the capacity of local governments, and support health facilities and communities to improve delivery of, and access to, health services.

Hussen said it seeks to aid vulnerable populations, including women and girls and indigenous people, in four geographically isolated and disaster-prone provinces.

“As part of our Indo-Pacific strategy, which is Canada’s way to focus in this region in terms of diplomacy, trade and investment, and development, the Philippines is central to that strategy,” Hussen said, adding cooperation with Manila on renewable energy and food security is also in the pipeline.

Hussen also highlighted the vibrant people-to-people ties between the two countries, through tourists, scholars and Filipinos in Canada, where close to a million people of Filipino descent work and live - the fourth biggest diaspora population in Canada.

Annual official development assistance to the Philippines from Canada is valued at around P1 billion or CAD$24 million to P1.04 or CAD$25 million, focusing on peace and security, economic, and health programs. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News