The Australian Government, in collaboration with the Unilab Foundation and the Philippine Business for Education, conducted the Horizons of Healthcare: Building a Future-Ready Philippine Human Resources for Health Forum on April 23-24.

The forum convened over 120 health experts, leaders, advocates, and students, from the public and private sectors and international organizations to collaborate in shaping the future of Philippine healthcare in the areas of public health, policy, and business. Together, they also provided recommendations to inform future policies and programs of the Philippine healthcare sector.

“The Philippines’ biggest asset is its people. So investing in people—making sure they have the skills and education to contribute meaningfully —will be critical to driving economic growth,” said Australian Embassy in the Philippines Deputy Head of Mission Dr. Moya Collett.

Local health experts highlighted the need to upskill healthcare workers, enhance policies that support upskilling, and increase access to upskilling opportunities.

Meanwhile, speakers from Singapore and Australia shared the benefits of integrating social wellness in health, opportunities that can be harnessed from artificial intelligence and other innovations in healthcare, and best practices in managing human resources in healthcare. The participants also learned the process in establishing labor skills councils for health in Australia – which became an essential avenue in increasing private sector involvement.

“With the rise of AI, robotics, and digital advancement, there’s an urgent need for skills-based training, mastery of critical healthcare skills, and global learning exchanges to empower our healthcare workers for the challenges ahead,” said Unilab Foundation Executive Director Lilibeth Aristorenas.

The forum also emphasized the importance of collaboration across all sectors given the multi-sectoral nature of healthcare. “Let us carry forward our shared goal of building an empowered healthcare workforce. Through our collective efforts, we will pave the way towards a healthier and more resilient nation,” Philippine Business for Education Deputy Executive Director Bal Camua said.

The Australian Government stressed that planning for the future must begin as early as now. “This is just the start… and the catalyst of where we are and what we need to take forward. I’m really looking forward to seeing the great outcomes of this initiative towards the betterment of health system in the Philippines,” said the Australian Embassy in the Philippines Counsellor for Development Thanh Le PSM.

To know more about the Health Sector Skills Council Project, visit their Facebook page.