𝗦𝗲𝗰. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘀𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩, 𝘋𝘳. 𝘛𝘦𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘰 “𝘛𝘦𝘥” 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘢, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 16 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐’𝘔 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺.
Sec. Herbosa emphasized the urgency of institutionalizing One Health, an approach that links human, animal, and environmental health, as essential in preventing and responding to pandemics and climate-related crises.
He acknowledged the progress in human health systems but pointed to continued gaps in the animal health sector. He highlighted the role of veterinarians in managing cross-species health risks, reflecting the interconnected nature of disease threats.
To address these challenges, Sec. Herbosa emphasized the importance of the Philippine Inter-Agency Committee for Zoonoses (PhilCZ), which developed a national roadmap in 2022 and the National Action Plan for Zoonoses (2023–2025). A new five-year strategic plan is also underway.
He also cited the Resilient Philippines Project, which secured a $25 million grant to improve early warning systems, laboratory capacity, and the health workforce.
Sec. Herbosa stressed three key priorities moving forward: stronger legal frameworks, interoperable information systems, and deeper collaboration with global and private partners. He stated that public-private partnerships are crucial in mitigating shocks that strain resources and livelihoods.
The Health Secretary concluded by aligning these efforts with the DOH’s 8-Point Agenda, urging a unified and inclusive approach to future-proof the country’s health system.
