The World Bank has approved an $18.85-million grant to strengthen the Philippines’ pandemic response, as the country is considered a global hotspot for emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases.

The Washington-based multilateral lender’s board approved last April 29 the investment project financing (IPF) for the Pandemic Fund-Resilient Philippines Project, which aims to improve the country’s capacity to detect, report, and respond to existing and emerging pathogens with epidemic potential among humans, animals, and wildlife, documents showed.

The project will be jointly implemented by the departments of Agriculture (DA) and of Health (DOH), as well as the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

The grant will be sourced from the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Trust Fund (Pandemic Fund), which was established in 2022.

The World Bank said the project has three components focused on human health, animal health, and overall implementation support.

The human health component aims to strengthen early warning and disease surveillance systems, improve laboratory capacity and diagnostics, and build a more resilient health workforce through training and regulatory support, the World Bank said.

Meanwhile, the animal health component enhances surveillance, information systems, and laboratory capabilities while building local government capacity, with the final component covering project management, monitoring, and evaluation, it added.

The World Bank noted in documents published last year that the Philippines is considered a global hotspot for emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases due to its rich biodiversity and factors such as habitat loss, urbanization, and illegal wildlife trade, which heighten the risk of disease spillover.

The lender also cited that the country has faced repeated outbreaks, including avian influenza or bird flu and African swine fever (ASF), alongside growing threats like antimicrobial resistance that complicate disease control and increase economic and health burdens.

While a 2024 World Health Organization (WHO) evaluation noted improvements in Philippine surveillance, laboratory capacity, and emergency response systems, gaps remain in workforce size and specialized skills needed for pandemic preparedness, it pointed out.

According to the World Bank, despite improvements in preventing, detecting, and controlling public health threats, gaps persist due to fragmented surveillance systems, limited local capacity, manual processes, and weaknesses in laboratory standards, diagnostics access, and workforce readiness.

The animal health sector faces similar constraints, with largely reactive surveillance, coordination challenges in a devolved system, and limited resources and integration needed for timely detection and rapid response to disease outbreaks, according to the World Bank.