Natural calamities are inevitable, and as time goes by, most are becoming worse due to the effects of climate change. While these calamities are inescapable, they can be a disaster depending on frequency and the country’s vulnerability and climate resiliency. Geographical location, economic standing, resource accessibility, and the quality of a nation’s institutions and infrastructure all affect its capacity to adapt to and lessen the effects of climate change. The Philippines, known as a calamity-prone country, faces challenges in maintaining resilient and reliable transport and healthcare systems.
With a combined expenditure of about $1 billion, two groundbreaking World Bank initiatives seek to close significant gaps in the Philippines’ transport and healthcare systems. These programs aim to promote sustainable development, increase accessibility, and enhance climate resilience nationwide, particularly in areas already vulnerable to climate change.
One of the projects, Mindanao Transport Connectivity, is a $454.94 initiative that will help at least 1.16 million people living along a crucial road corridor in Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos. This initiative aims to provide better access to sustainable transportation services and infrastructure. Improving road infrastructure and networks will help impoverished farmers reduce transportation expenses and product losses, a significant factor in the fight against poverty.
Pratap Tvgssshrk, a World Bank Senior Transport Specialist, stated that increasing agricultural productivity, particularly for smallholder farmers, is crucial for Mindanao’s sustained growth and poverty reduction. “Connecting rural and remote areas to urban centers where there is demand for farm produce is a key intervention to support growth in the agricultural sector,” he added.
Access to dependable transportation and high-quality healthcare can be challenging in many rural regions, including Mindanao. This leaves many without access to basic and essential services. Aside from this, inaccessibility, poor infrastructure, and frequent natural disasters exacerbate this challenge. A large percentage of the population struggles to travel due to poor road conditions, which hinder access to markets, schools, and medical services, according to the NDF Fact Sheet on Philippine Roads.
The project would link three important cities in Mindanao through the rehabilitation and improvement of a 428.2-kilometer primary road corridor that spans four roads through six provinces, fourteen municipalities, seven cities, and 168 barangays. Add to that the upgrade of a total of 129.86 kilometers of three local highways that connect to the Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos corridor.
The other World Bank initiative is the Philippines Health System Resilience Project. This $495.6 million project aims to support high-quality health services at the provincial level, strengthen personnel and governance, and develop climate-resilient healthcare networks across 17 provinces, 11 of which are in Mindanao.
This project has four major sections focusing on strengthening health systems as well as emergency preparedness. The first component focuses on strengthening primary care networks, hospital capacity, supply chain management, and workforce governance to create climate-resilient provincial health systems. It also includes performance-based grants to encourage efficiency. Meanwhile, the second section aims to strengthen health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response (HEPPR) systems, such as disease surveillance, laboratory networks, and emergency response at different levels of government.
The third element facilitates monitoring and evaluation, community involvement, project management, and digital health transformation. Finally, the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC), the fourth component, permits the reallocation of finances to address catastrophes or natural disasters while considering climate risk.
World Bank Senior Economist Wei Han said, “The health sector in the Philippines significantly depends on the efforts of local government units (LGUs) to provide essential services. However, many LGUs face challenges due to limited resources and capacity. This project is vital as it aims to empower these low-capacity LGUs to deliver high-quality health services, thereby driving socioeconomic progress through improved health outcomes for Filipinos.”