The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released an amount of PhP1.6 billion to the Department of Health (DOH)-Central Office to cover the funding requirements for the payment of salaries of Human Resources for Health (HRH) deployed personnel, scholarship programs, insurance and other operating expenses, chargeable against the HRH Deployment Program (HRHDP) in the FY 2019 General Appropriations Act.

The HRHDP bolsters the sustainable production of public health workforce through scholarships linked with return service policies, encourages the retention of health workers, and increases health workers’ employability through learning and development opportunities.

The program also aims to promote access of marginalized, vulnerable, and disadvantaged populations to primary health care services by addressing inequities in healthcare access due to maldistribution of locally-hired health workers. Its priority scope of areas include: geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas; municipalities belonging to 6th, 5th, and 4th classes; identified municipalities with indigenous peoples; identified municipalities with Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title barangays; municipalities with identified pharmaceutical programs; and, focus areas based on the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition.

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