Reiterating that a country’s strength is in its healthcare system, a health reform advocate said that the Philippine healthcare agenda should be prioritized in the next administration.
Health reform advocate and former National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 special adviser Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon on Saturday, March 12, said that the next administration should strengthen its healthcare agenda.
“Dapat ay pagtibayin natin sa susunod na administration ang healthcare agenda. Dapat ay bawat region ngayon – regions one to 17, ay magkaroon ng mini Philippine General Hospital (PGH). Yung human resources natin, ‘yan din ang nagiging problema natin. Kailangan nating pagtibayin ang ating universal healthcare (We must strengthen our healthcare agenda in the next administration. Every region – from regions one to17, should have a mini PGH. Our human resources, that is also our problem. We need to strengthen our universal healthcare),” said Leachon in an interview over DZRH.
He likewise stressed that it is important to “pay close attention” to the needs of Filipino healthcare workers, provide a “much-needed” salary increase, and build additional health infrastructures to better equip the country in times of health crisis.
“Dapat ay tapusin na ang pandemya sa pag upo sa 2022. Dapat ay 2023 ay wala na tayong iisipin kundi ang ekonomiya natin, job generation at iba pa. Pero ang unang una po ay kalusugan kasi ito ang nagpalugmok sa atin sa Pilipinas at ang centrality of focus should be on health (We must end the pandemic in 2022, so that by 2023 we have nothing to think about but our economy, the job generation and so on. But the first thing is health because it is what brought us down in the Philippines, that is why the centrality of our focus should be on health),” Leachon added.
“‘Yan ang strength ng countries – nasa healthcare system. Unahin po natin ‘yan para kung may delubyo, may pandemya, ang Pilipinas ay handa (The strength of countries in its healthcare system. Let us prioritize that so that if there is a crisis, pandemic, the Philippines is ready),” he furthered.