During the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva this year, Member States endorsed the Resolution on Social Participation for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The resolution recognizes the importance of regular and meaningful social participation to ensure the accountability and legitimacy of strengthening health systems and universal health coverage efforts anchored on a primary healthcare approach.
Social participation, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), means empowering people, communities, and civil society through inclusive participation in decision-making processes that affect health across the policy cycle and at all levels of the system.
The resolution recalls and builds on related intergovernmental agreements that assert the importance of social participation, including participatory and inclusive health governance for UHC enshrined in the Political Declaration on the High-Level Meeting for UHC 2023; empowering people and communities as part of a primary healthcare approach in the Declaration of Astana 2018; Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 16.7 for responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels (2015); and public, community and civil society participation for health equity in the Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health 2011.
“Today, in light of this important resolution, we are starting a larger dialogue between government, the private sector and civil society in order to work hand in hand for universal healthcare,” said Karen Alparce Villanueva, president of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO), in her welcome remarks during the first-ever Philippine Patients Congress.
Held recently at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Mandaluyong City, the groundbreaking congress brought together 300 patient advocates, caregivers, representatives from government and the academe, healthcare professionals, and leaders from the private sector from across the country who shared insights, experiences, and best practices in a spirit of collaboration and a united call to action.
The first Philippine Patients Congress was organized by PAPO in collaboration with ADB, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific (JFPR), and the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP).
Through the congress, PAPO, a coalition of patient organizations in the country advocating for universal access to healthcare, aims to strengthen patient advocacy in the country and participate meaningfully in co-owning and co-creating solutions to achieve Health for All. The coalition also seeks to open avenues for further partnership and capacity building based on the lessons from the congress.
If people are empowered to fully partner for health, the resources, intelligence, and capacities of our health systems will exponentially increase, explained Ms. Villanueva. Challenges — such as access to healthcare services, widening social inequalities, demographic changes, and healthcare worker shortages — that are overwhelming the health system can be overcome only if everyone is mobilized, complementary in their knowledge and interdependent in their actions, she stressed.
The PAPO head lauded the WHO resolution as an important step forward. First, it outlines clear government responsibilities to ensure that social participation is adequately resourced with stable public funding and designed in a way that influences health-related policies and system change. The resolution holds governments accountable for nurturing a fair playing field, reducing power differences, and making room for everyone.
Second, the resolution makes social participation a core function within health systems, rather than a set of ad hoc initiatives. This global perspective is important to reshape health systems, nurture trust and long-term relationships with communities, and build alliances across health sectors. There should be equal partnership between policy makers and patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare providers, industry and communities.
Third, it offers powerful mechanisms to influence governments because they endorsed the resolution. Governments have a political imperative to act and must show progress every two years. The resolution supports national implementation through technical guidance, examples of global practice, and a common evidence base. To translate this at the country level, strong and capable leadership is needed.
“We need more patient leaders to invest their time and energy towards social participation; the government to support the funding and the mechanisms to institutionalize the participation of communities in health decision-making processes; and the private sector to share models of innovation and futures thinking. After all, health is created by people, communities, and civil society,” said Ms. Villanueva.
She described the Philippine Patients Congress as civil society extending its hand to work with the different sectors in owning and co-creating some of the solutions to the immense challenges of universal healthcare.
“We need to share not just challenges but also success stories and solutions, learn from each other and gain understanding from our diversities, build coalitions and develop the next generation of leaders who have the passion and expertise, so no one is left behind,” Ms. Villanueva said.
Teodoro B. Padilla is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines which represents the biopharmaceutical medicines and vaccines industry in the country. Its members are in the forefront of research and development efforts for COVID-19 and other diseases that affect Filipinos.
