Sixty-Eight Years of Israel–Philippines Bilateral Relations: Health Diplomacy, Digital Innovation, and Policy Lessons

Sixty-Eight Years of Israel–Philippines Bilateral Relations: Health Diplomacy, Digital Innovation, and Policy Lessons

Dr. Fernan Torreno
Famiela Torreno (corresponding author)
[e-mail]

Abstract

Background:
Diplomatic relations between Israel and the Philippines were established in 1957, making the Philippines one of the earliest Asian nations to formalize ties with Israel^1^. Over nearly seven decades, bilateral cooperation has included agreements in health, workforce mobility, humanitarian relief, and science and technology. More recently, collaborations have expanded to digital health and artificial intelligence (AI), reflecting Israel’s role as a leader in health innovation^2^ and the Philippines’ status as both a major health workforce exporter and an adaptive adopter of new technologies^3^. Despite multiple initiatives, no systematic review has synthesized the outcomes and policy implications of these bilateral engagements.
Methods:
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of Israel–Philippines cooperation in health and technology (1957–2025), guided by PRISMA standards. Data sources included PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and official government repositories. Eligible documents comprised bilateral agreements, program evaluations, peer-reviewed studies, and humanitarian mission reports. Extracted outcomes covered health system strengthening, workforce deployment, digital health performance, and policy or diplomatic achievements. Random-effects models were used for pooled analyses, with subgroup analyses comparing traditional health diplomacy with digital health innovation.
Results:
Forty-two eligible documents were identified. Traditional cooperation included bilateral caregiver employment agreements (ratified 2019, first deployment in 2021)^4^, Israel’s humanitarian medical mission following Typhoon Haiyan in 2013^5^, and scientific cooperation memoranda^6^. Recent collaborations involved AI-assisted tuberculosis screening with CAD tools and ultra-portable X-rays^7^, cross-border data privacy agreements signed in 2025^8^, and the ISHA Women’s Health Initiative launched in 2025 as a flagship bilateral project in women’s health^9^. Meta-analysis demonstrated moderate improvements in workforce mobility (OR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.28–2.19) and TB case-finding efficiency (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI 0.25–0.67).
Conclusions:
This review of 68 years of bilateral relations highlights the evolution of Israel–Philippines cooperation from traditional health diplomacy to digital health innovation. The partnership underscores how bilateral diplomacy can strengthen national systems and contribute to global goals such as SDG 3 (Health), SDG 9 (Innovation), and SDG 17 (Partnerships)^10^.
Keywords: Israel, Philippines, bilateral relations, health diplomacy, digital health, artificial intelligence, policy cooperation, workforce mobility, tuberculosis, Sustainable Development Goals

《以菲双边关系六十八年：卫生外交、数字创新与政策启示》

费尔南·托雷诺博士
法米拉·托雷诺（通讯作者）
[e-mail]

摘要

研究背景：以色列与菲律宾于1957年建立外交关系，菲律宾是最早与以色列正式建交的亚洲国家之一^1^。近七十年来，两国双边合作涵盖卫生、劳动力流动、人道主义救援以及科学技术等领域。近年来，合作范畴拓展至数字卫生与人工智能（Artificial Intelligence, AI），这既体现了以色列在卫生创新领域的领军地位^2^，也契合菲律宾作为主要卫生劳动力输出国与新技术适应性采纳者的身份^3^。尽管双方已开展多项合作举措，但目前尚无系统性综述对这些双边互动的成果与政策内涵进行整合分析。

研究方法：本研究遵循系统评价与元分析优先报告条目（PRISMA）标准，针对1957年至2025年以菲两国在卫生与科技领域的合作开展系统性综述与元分析。数据来源涵盖PubMed、Scopus、Web of Science以及官方政府档案库。纳入的文献包括双边协议、项目评估报告、同行评议研究以及人道主义任务报告。提取的研究结果涵盖卫生体系强化、劳动力配置、数字卫生绩效以及政策或外交成果。本研究采用随机效应模型进行合并分析，并通过亚组分析对比传统卫生外交与数字卫生创新的差异。

研究结果：本研究共纳入42篇符合标准的文献。传统合作模式包括2019年获批的双边护工就业协议（2021年首次部署）^4^、以色列2013年台风海燕灾后人道主义医疗救援任务^5^以及科学合作备忘录^6^。近期合作则涵盖基于计算机辅助设计（Computer-Aided Design, CAD）工具与超便携X光设备的人工智能辅助结核病筛查、2025年签署的跨境数据隐私协议，以及2025年启动的ISHA妇女健康倡议，作为两国妇女卫生领域的旗舰合作项目^9^。元分析结果显示，劳动力流动（比值比OR=1.72，95%置信区间CI：1.28~2.19）与结核病病例发现效率（标准化均数差SMD=0.46，95%CI：0.25~0.67）均得到中等程度提升。

研究结论：本综述对两国六十八年双边关系的梳理，展现了以菲合作从传统卫生外交向数字卫生创新的演进历程。该伙伴关系凸显了双边外交如何助力国家卫生体系强化，并为可持续发展目标（Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs）3（健康）、SDG 9（创新）以及SDG 17（伙伴关系）等全球目标的实现作出贡献^10^。

关键词：以色列、菲律宾、双边关系、卫生外交、数字卫生、人工智能、政策合作、劳动力流动、结核病、可持续发展目标