MANILA: The Philippines and the Gulf Cooperation Council are in talks to open more accredited medical centers and clinics in the Southeast Asian country, as they seek to improve health screening for Filipino workers headed for the Gulf.
More than a million Filipino nationals are living and working in the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia is the top destination in the GCC for Filipino overseas workers — the Kingdom hosts nearly half of the Filipinos in the Gulf — followed by the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
This week, the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers hosted a delegation from the GCC and the Gulf Health Council to discuss initiatives on the health and medical screening of Filipino migrant workers.
The GHC runs the Wafid Program, a mandatory pre-departure medical screening for Gulf-bound expatriates to ensure they are fit and free from certain diseases that could pose public health risks.
“As of now, there are 24 accredited medical centers and clinics across the country, and the council announced plans to expand and increase that number,” the DMW said in a statement issued after the meeting.
