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Presenter cites health taxes as key tool to fund essential services, cites Philippines example
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Summary
An unidentified presenter said WHO supports countries using health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks to protect essential services and mobilize revenue; a 2013 Philippines tax reform was cited as increasing revenues more than fivefold and expanding national health insurance to over 15,000,000 poor families.
An unidentified presenter said the World Health Organization is supporting countries to maintain essential health services in the short term while mobilizing domestic resources to make the long-term transition to sustainable self-reliance.
"1 of the best tools for doing that is health taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks," the presenter said, arguing that such taxes both discourage harmful consumption and generate revenue for health systems. The presenter said health taxes "have been shown to reduce consumption of these harmful products, helping to prevent disease and reduce the burden on health systems."
As an example, the presenter cited a 2013 tax reform in the Philippines, saying the measure "increased revenues by more than 5 times," and that those revenues supported the expansion of national health insurance to "more than 15,000,000 poor families." No additional legislative or implementation details were provided in the presentation.
The presentation did not record any formal motions, votes or next procedural steps. No named respondent or follow-up assignment was recorded in the transcript.
