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Building green and safe health facilities in the Philippines

Categories: Action Line 2: Evidence-based policy strategy and capacity building, Assessments of climate and health risks and GHG emissions, Climate resilient and low carbon infrastructures, technologies, and supply chain, Climate-related emergency preparedness and management, Climate-smart workforce, Climate-transformative leadership and governance, Health systems wide resilience

Country: Philippines

Organizations: Department of Health - Philippines

The intervention

The Philippines faces significant challenges in ensuring that its health facilities remain safe, sustainable, and climate-resilient, particularly given its vulnerability to disasters and climate change. To address these, the Department of Health (DOH), through the technical assistance of WHO, developed the Green and Safe Health Facilities Manual, to institutionalize environmental sustainability, safety, and climate-resilient practices in healthcare delivery. 

The interventions employed a multifaceted and participatory approach: 

  • Developed as a diagnostic and monitoring tool, the Green Viability Assessment (GVA) system assessed government hospitals’ performance against environmental sustainability, safety, and climate resilience standards. The tool served as a structured framework for planning, assessment, and continuous improvement. 
  • The global Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH FIT) tool was adapted to the Philippine context, ensuring feasibility across diverse health facilities. This allowed systematic improvements in water supply, sanitation, hygiene practices, and infection prevention and control. 
  • Both the GVA and WASH FIT interventions were embedded in DOH health systems strengthening initiatives, ensuring institutional ownership and policy alignment. 
  • Best practices and case studies were compiled into a DOH Compendium, serving as a repository for learning and replication nationwide. Training on Green Building Professionals, mentorship, and participatory workshops were also conducted to build capacity among facility managers and staff. 

 

Success factors

Embedding these two systems into DOH programs encouraged accountability, continuity, and nationwide adoption. The GVA system provided a measurable and standardised pathway for hospitals to evaluate compliance with sustainability and safety standards, while localizing WASH FIT interventions resulted in improved access to safe water, better sanitation infrastructure, and strengthened infection prevention practices in health facilities.

A number of reasons led to the successsul implementation of the interventions. It stemmed from strong institutional leadership and commitment of the core team implementing it at the national level. Collaboration across engineering, environmental health, and facility management units ensured technical coherence and ownership. The use of standardised assessment tools, backed by data-driven monitoring, created accountability and measurable progress. Finally, documenting best practices and establishing a roadmap for scaling enabled knowledge transfer and sustained implementation across the country’s health facilities. 

 

Recommendations

The Philippine experience demonstrates that advancing green, safe, and climate-resilient health facilities is not only a health sector reform but also a climate adaptation and sustainable development strategy. The integration of GVA and localized WASH FIT has created a holistic framework for improving health facility resilience, patient safety, and environmental sustainability. With continuous learning, documentation, and policy support, these interventions can serve as a replicable model for other low- and middle-income countries striving to build climate-resilient health systems. 

For countries or institutions seeking to replicate these interventions, the following recommendations are suggested: 

  • Contextualise global tools to suit local realities and resource levels. 
  • Ensure institutional ownership by engaging leadership and facility managers in design and implementation. 
  • Integrate sustainability assessments (like GVA) into national monitoring and evaluation systems for accountability. 
  • Promote multi-sectoral collaboration between health, environment, water, and local government stakeholders. 
  • Invest in capacity-building through training and mentoring to sustain long-term improvements. 

 

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