Health Secretary Enrique Ona and Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shri Yogendra Kumar reaffirmed the cooperation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of India on matters of improving the state of healthcare in both countries during the 1st Philippine Global Healthcare Forum at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI).
India and the Philippines are working together under a Memorandum of Understanding to exchange knowledge, expertise and training in various areas of healthcare and medicine for their mutual benefit. These areas include: Medical Education; Public Health; Hospital Management; Health Tourism; Drugs and Pharmaceutical Products; Medical Consumable Products; Medical Equipments; Communicable Disease Control and Surveillance; and Traditional and Alternative Medicine.
Ona and representatives of the Philippine health sector joined Indian experts on healthcare and global healthcare travel at the 1st Philippine Global Healthcare Forum in order to discuss and exchange information on how the Philippines, with the help of India, can develop into an international healthcare hub.
“India and the Philippines share similar health concerns. Particularly, both our countries need to meet the challenge of providing quality healthcare to the poorer and poorest segments of our populations. Both our countries will be able to exchange knowledge, expertise and training that will be of mutual benefit to our peoples,” said Secretary Ona.
One of the global healthcare experts at the Forum, Dr. Sanjiv Malik, noted that India’s success in developing its health sector to meet international standards was something that could be replicated in the Philippines.
“When India improved its international healthcare services, its entire healthcare sector improved. India was able to upgrade its healthcare system to international standards. As a result, both overseas patients and Indian patients are now receiving international quality health services and medical treatments at prices that are affordable to them.
“This is something I believe is very achievable for the Philippines. Your already are a caring people. You Filipino nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals give the highest level of caring and compassion to patients – it’s in your DNA. What you need to do next is to modify your present healthcare practices and systems to conform with international benchmarks. When you do that, you are already on your way to providing the best healthcare to your people and to becoming an international healthcare hub,” said Malik.
The 1st Philippine Global Healthcare Forum was convened by HealthCORE, a private corporation specializing in healthcare research and communications; and the official Philippine representative of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) in India. NABH is an ISQua-accredited, international accreditor of healthcare providers.