U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip S. Goldberg joined the Zuellig Family Foundation, Inc. (ZFF), the Philippine Department of Health, and the U.S. Embassy’s Agency for International Development (USAID)/Philippines in celebrating the graduation of 38 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) leaders who successfully completed a two-year Health Leadership and Governance Program. The program, culminating in a Health Colloquium, seeks to improve quality, affordability, access and availability of health care for the Moro people. Through the leadership of these graduates, hailing from 18 different municipalities, ratios of midwife to population and facility-based deliveries have improved; increased in the number of clinics accredited with Philhealth have increased; and the number of reproductive health units that are accessible around the clock has tripled.

Department of Health Secretary Jean Paulyn Ubial, Vice President Leonor Robredo, ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman , and ZFF Chairperson Roberto Romulo also graced the ceremony. Secretary Ubial, acknowledging the health challenges in ARMM, declared, “It is our hope in the Department of Health to have an inclusive health agenda that will allow us to actually focus on the health and well-being of the poorest Filipinos, the marginalized, the most vulnerable.” Three mayors from the municipalities of Tandubas (Tawi-Tawi), Akbar (Basilan) and Sultan Mastura (Maguindanao), and one Municipal Health Officer from Masiu (Lanao del Sur), all alumni of the program, shared moving leadership stories about how they overcame health issues in their respective regions, describing first-hand how even low-income municipalities in ARMM can improve health outcomes with strong health governance.

Vice President Robredo praised the Health Leadership and Governance Program (HLGP), stating that “Programs such as these allow mayors to quickly understand the problem and become a catalyst for change. When the local leader governs with honesty, integrity, and transparency, constituents have better quality of life and progress happens from the top to the bottom.”

USAID/Philippines, in partnership with the Philippine Department of Health and through the Zuellig Family Foundation, builds health leadership and governance in 104 municipalities and cities nationwide, and strengthens health systems for improved service delivery at provincial hospitals, primary health care facilities and communities. From 2013 to 2016, USAID contributed more than Php 1 billion in Mindanao and ARMM. As Ambassador Philip Goldberg affirmed, “The U.S. government will continue to support Mindanao and ARMM to achieve lasting peace and development in the years to come.”