A WORLD Bank study found that the Philippines allocates only about 2.2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to public health spending, making it among the lowest spenders in East Asia and the Pacific.
On Thursday, the World Bank presented its report titled “A Healthy Future: Primary Healthcare (PHC) and the Chronic Disease Epidemic in East Asia and the Pacific,” launched in Jakarta, Indonesia.
At 2.2 percent, the Philippines ranks near the bottom of the region, spending more than Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam.
Its allocation is well below the regional mid-range and dramatically lower than high-performing health systems like Tuvalu with 17.1 percent, Kiribati with 13.3 percent, and the Marshall Islands, 11.5 percent.
Even several lower- and middle-income neighbors allocate a larger share of their economies to public health, the study found.
The data highlights that while many countries have steadily increased public investment to strengthen PHC and manage chronic diseases, the Philippines remains constrained by insufficient public resources.
This low level of spending helps explain persistent problems such as high out-of-pocket costs, strained public hospitals, and gaps in preventive and primary care services.
Despite the Philippines lagging in health spending, the study noted that the Philippines’ PHC provider payment system is a good example in the region, noting its contractual arrangements with the private sector that include explicit performance-linked payments.
Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, vice president of the East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank, stressed the economic benefits of investing more in PHC.
“The promise of primary health care is its ability to deliver services that are effective, efficient, and equitable. Investment in primary health care yields some of the highest economic returns in the health sector. Yet, despite its proven value, primary health care remains a tool that is underutilized in our region, resulting in missed opportunities across many countries in East Asia and the Pacific,” Jaramillo said.
The report also showed that while people in the region are living longer, they are not necessarily living healthier lives. Chronic, noncommunicable diseases are increasingly affecting working-age adults, imposing high costs on families, health systems, and national economies.
Indonesia’s Minister of Health, Budi Sadikin, said that health care costs are rising faster than GDP in many countries — a trend he called “totally unsustainable.” He cited stark differences in health care spending and outcomes between countries, noting that nations with longer life expectancies and lower per capita health costs such as Singapore and Japan, invest heavily in primary care and prevention.
“The countries that have a very long life expectancy and very low health cost per capita have a lot of focus on primary care. They keep the people healthy, not just cure the sick,” Sadikin said.
The World Bank’s report calls for innovative, country-tailored reforms and stronger partnerships between governments, communities, care providers, and the private sector. It urges policymakers to prioritize primary health care, invest in prevention, and support individuals in adopting healthier behaviors.
“Only through this combined effort can the full potential of primary health care be used to fend off the growing burden of chronic disease,” Jaramillo said, warning that without decisive action, the region’s economic and health gains could be at risk.
