Philippines

Key Results in 2022-2023

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is now included in the national drug formulary facilitating government procurement and more than 20 000 people from key populations accessed it Dolutegravir-based treatment was introduced as first line treatment regimen.
Intense advocacy resulted in the Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) increasing its outpatient HIV treatment reimbursement package by 20%.
Over 1.1 million adolescents and young students received comprehensive sexuality education from more than 200 000 trained teachers in 2023.

Joint Programme Results

Intense advocacy and technical support from the Joint Programme, development partners and civil society enabled the Philippines to make progress in scaling up access to HIV services among vulnerable and key populations. For instance, more than 20 000 people from key populations accessed PrEP services following the implementation of updated national PrEP guidelines. PrEP was also included in the national drug formulary, thereby facilitating government procurement and the eventual enrolment of 150 000 people using domestic resources (WHO, UNAIDS Secretariat). In addition, more than 30 representatives from civil society and government institutions working with people who use drugs, female sex workers, transgender women and young people from key populations received training on various areas, including integration of HIV and harm reduction services, responding to children at risk with city social work and development officers and responding to the needs people in detention (UNFPA, UNODC, UNAIDS Secretariat).

In the areas of HIV testing and treatment, 68 healthcare facilities applied the rapid HIV diagnostic algorithm (rHIVda), thereby significantly reducing the turnaround time of HIV confirmatory results—an increase from 38 facilities in 2022. Philippines also implemented dolutegravir-based treatment regimen in the national drug formulary and transitioning of all eligible people living with HIV to the new regimen is scheduled to be completed in 2024. In addition, 33 000 people living with HIV benefited from the expansion of point-of care viral load testing using GenXpert machines; implementation of Transport Riders (STRiders), a client-centred specimen referral and transportation system; and donation of antiretroviral medicines and other HIV-related commodities (WHO, UNAIDS Secretariat). Intense advocacy by the Joint Programme resulted in the Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) increasing its outpatient HIV treatment reimbursement benefit by 20% from PHP 30 000 per year per client to PHP 36 000 (UNICEF, UNAIDS Secretariat).

Access to sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and literacy among adolescent including t girls who sell sex and transgender girls improved due to revised national policies. These includes a policy for paediatric HIV services; a revised costed comprehensive sexuality education implementation plan; refined out-of-school comprehensive sexuality education; a pilot model for integration HIV and adolescent sexual and reproductive health services; and various adolescent learning modules, such as HIV, family planning, and gender-based violence. Additionally, over 1.1 million adolescents and young students received comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) from more than 200 000 trained teachers in 2023 (UNICEF, UNFPA).

Community-led monitoring expanded through the development of a community-led monitoring roadmap; and a monitoring system comprising of a digital platform and an operational manual. More than 4100 client feedback were recorded on the community-led monitoring platform from 62 healthcare facilities across the country as of December 2023. In addition, a consolidated operational manual for community-based organizations was developed and a social contracting feasibility study was completed to facilitate implementation of social contacting mechanisms in the Philippines (WHO, UNAIDS Secretariat).

To advance sustainability, 12 local government units from Region III (Central Luzon) and Region IV-A (CaLaBaRZon) drafted HIV investment plans and HIV investment calculators following training on the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on HIV. Core learning materials of the MOOC, particularly on HIV financing and local investments of the MOOC were also adopted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through their ProtectHealth Project (UNDP).

With technical and financial support from The Joint Programme, the country successfully developed and secured approval for its USD 26.8 million funding proposal for Global Fund Cycle 7 for the period 2024-2026 (UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, WHO, UNAIDS Secretariat).