The United States and the Republic of the Philippines signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on Apr. 9 to create a framework for health cooperation aimed at increasing the Philippines’ autonomy in its health systems and strengthening its ability to respond to global health threats, including HIV, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases.
This agreement is part of the Trump Administration’s America First Global Health Strategy. It commits both countries to co-funding agreed-upon global health objectives in the near future, with an emphasis on enhancing bilateral collaboration in healthcare. The Joint Declaration builds upon U.S. assistance announced in September 2025 for tuberculosis control, maternal health improvement, and disease surveillance.
Under this declaration, both nations will negotiate a five-year Strategic Objective Agreement that supports all three pillars of the America First Global Health Strategy. The new arrangement is expected to save lives in both countries by increasing resiliency within the Philippine health system through coordinated funding and promoting innovations that slow infectious disease spread.
According to the release, memoranda of understanding under this strategy have resulted in more than $20.6 billion in new global health funding so far—including over $12.8 billion from U.S. assistance and $7.8 billion from recipient country investments—supporting efforts against HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases worldwide.
As of April 7, thirty bilateral global health MOUs have been signed between the United States and various countries including Angola, Botswana, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nigeria—and now officially with the Philippines.
