Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Yo ! Lead Project: End of Project Document and End Line Survey Published
Two published documents marked the end of the project Yo! Lead or Youth on the Lead.”Started in July 2006 and ended on June 2010, the Yo!Lead or Youth on the Lead is a leadership program of the VPHCS for youth–initiated adolescent reproductive health advocacy and services in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol and Occidental Negros, Philippines that aims to promote increased practice of healthy reproductive and sexual health (RSH) behaviors among the youth.
It was funded by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA- International).
The end of project document (EOPD) entitled, “Yo! Lead: Youth on the Lead, A Leadership Program for Youth-initiated Reproductive Health Advocacy and Services in the Philippines” is a 40-page book that synthesizes the highlights of the project. It also includes a summary of the sexual and reproductive health initiatives of 22 community-based youth organizations and seven school-based youth organizations in selected schools and communities in the three provinces with which the project worked. Best practices of four organizations and the Youth for Rights Network (Y4R) are also featured in the book. Various literary contributions are also included.
The second document is an end line reproductive health survey among the community-based and school-based partner youth organizations.
The end line survey was a follow-up of the baseline study conducted at the start of the project in July 2006 – October 2006. The baseline study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs regarding RH and their sexual and RH problems. The results of the study were then used as the basis to come up with youth-friendly projects that truly responded to their needs and concerns which the project implemented with the youth organizations.
The end line survey was conducted before the project ended in June 2010 among the members of the same 19 organizations which participated in the project at its start. Although respondents may be different from those who participated in the baseline survey, it was expected that because of the inputs of the project and the participation of the organizations in its implementation, the desired goal of increased practice of healthy reproductive and sexual health (RSH) behaviors among the youth would redound to their new members until the fourth year.
Thus, the end line survey measured the effectiveness of the project and noted that there was an improvement of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding RH and corrected mistaken beliefs and unhealthy practices among the youth.
After four years, the project has more than a hundred trained youth leaders and peer educators from schools and communities in the three provinces who are knowledgeable on SRH issues, effective communication, project management, and leadership development.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Nursing students donate school supplies
Students organized under the Students Alliance for Community Health Services (SACHS) based in Tagbilaran City recently held its Third Pencil for a Cause Project in its adopted barangay, Caluasan in the municipality of Dagohoy, Bohol.Some 30 students of different nursing colleges in Tagbilaran City distributed school supplies last Oct. 30, 2010 to more than 200 children of families who are members of the Hugpong Mag-uuma sa San Miguel (HUMASA) (Farmers’ Association in San Miguel, Bohol) and the Mga Mag-uuma sa Lakalsanda Apektado sa Land Levelling (MALALA) (Farmers in Lakalsanda Affected by Land Levelling).
The yearly community outreach activity of the SACHS was held during the general assembly of the MALALA in the barangay hall of Caluasan. Barangay Captain Rey Luchana also shared an update of his recent trip to Japan regarding the ongoing opposition of the farmers’ organizations of the Malinao Dam Project that has worsened their economic situations.
Members of the SACHS have always served as volunteers and partners of the VPHCS in its various community outreach programs and medical missions in its community-based health programs areas.
Barangay Caluasan in Dagohoy and Barangay Sto. Nino in San Miguel are current project areas of the VPHCS in partnership with the Asian Community Trust (ACT) based in Japan.
Monday, November 8, 2010
‘Free the 43’ - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
President Benigno Aquino III is concerned over the detention for the past 15 years of Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, a democracy icon like his late mother, former President Corazon C. Aquino. Last Oct. 28, while attending the Asean Summit in Hanoi, he urged Burma’s Prime Minister Thein Sein to free Suu Kyi, but predictably, the latter made no clear commitment.But while Mr. Aquino seems to be passionate in working for the release of Suu Kyi, he does not seem to be very concerned about the detention for the past nine months by government forces of 43 health workers, the so-called “Morong 43.” Last Oct. 14 Mr. Aquino said the case of the 43 detainees would have to be decided by the court that is trying them for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
The President has ordered a review of the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the health workers. The confiscation of guns and explosives from the Morong resort where they were staying showed that the evidence had been obtained through irregular means. He said that “it is a generally accepted principle that that what the lawyers call the fruit of the poisoned tree, [or] evidence wrongly gotten cannot be used.”
The Morong 43, their families and supporters have said that they were attending a training seminar on how to provide health services to poor communities when arrested. Their families said the detained workers were subjected to “psychological torture” by the military.
click here to read the full article
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
VPHCS seeks accreditation from DSWD
A representative of the Standards Bureau of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Central Office recently visited the Visayas Primary Health Care Services, Inc.
Mr. Hernan Z. Perez met with the management committee and staff of the VPHCS last September 23 – 24 as part of the accreditation process of the VPHCS with the DSWD.
The accreditation process follows DSWD Administrative Order No. 1 7 series of 2008 “Rules and Regulations on the Registration and Licensing of Social Welfare and Development Agencies and Accreditation of Social Welfare and Development Programs and Services” which regulates and enforces social welfare and development standards to both public and private organizations in the country that engage in social welfare and development activities.
The VPHCS was given by the DSWD a Certificate of Registration and License to Operate as a social welfare and development agency (SWDA) on June 28, 2010. This means that the VPHCS is officially recognized by the DSWD as a SWA within the purview of social welfare and development and has a legal permit to operate as such.
Accreditation would mean that its programs and services have met the minimum standards set by the government
Being a registered and licensed SWA, the VPHCS is now included in the DSWD's Registry of Registered, Licensed and/or Accredited Social Welfare SWDAs, will receive technical assistance from the DSWD on programs and services implementation; can participate in DSWD's capability building and skills enhancement; can receive endorsement for duty free entry of foreign donations; and receive other benefits and privileges that may be provided from time to time.
After being accredited, the VPHCS shall also enjoy additional benefits including, for level 1 of accreditation, publication of VPHCS good practices and success stories in the DSWD publications and posting on the DSWD website; and endorsement of project proposals; level 2, paper presentation abroad, depending on available opportunities; and nomination for travel local and abroad to participate in relevant training/conferences as part of the Philippine delegation; and level 3, plaque of recognition and cash incentive; recognition a model SWDA and laboratory for trainings and research; and authority to undertake training on their expertise and to charge corresponding fees.
Mr. Perez went through the documents submitted by the VPHCS in its application for accreditation, including the VPHCS manual of operations, profile of employees, profile of the governing board, profile of clients, latest narrative reports and financial statements, and work and financial plan.
He also visited Sitio Back of Matimco, Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City, one of the project sites of the VPHCS, where he talked with community health workers and leaders of the people’s organization who are working with the VPHCS in its existing community-based health program.
Mr. Perez made several recommendations to improve the operations of the VPHCS which were welcomed by the management committee. An action plan was later signed by Mr. Perez and Petty Orbeta de Castro, VPHCS executive director signifying the intention of the VPHCS to comply with the said recommendations in order for its accreditation to be granted.
* certificate shall be granted based on the expiration date of the issued accreditation
* certificate. The accredited SWDAs shall receive the following additional benefits
* depending on the level of compliance to set standards:
c.l.
Level 1 of Accreditation
i. Documentation of good practices and success stories shall be featured in
DSWD annual report and Social Welfare and Development Journals as well
as posting on the DSWD website;
ii. Endorsement of project proposals; and
iii.Other
benefits and privileges may be provided from time to time as deemed
appropriate by the Department.
c.2. Level 2 of Accreditation
i.
Paper presentation abroad, depending on available opportunities; and
ii. Nomination
for travel local and abroad to participate In relevant
training/conferences as part of the Philippine delegation.
c.3. Level 3 of Accreditation
i.
Plaque of recognition and cash incentive;
ii. Recognized as a model SWDA and laboratory for trainings and research;
iii.Authority to undertake training on their expertise and charge corresponding
fees; and
iv.Recommendation
for a seat on appropriate councils in areas where expertise
is required.
Mr. Hernan Z. Perez met with the management committee and staff of the VPHCS last September 23 – 24 as part of the accreditation process of the VPHCS with the DSWD.
The accreditation process follows DSWD Administrative Order No. 1 7 series of 2008 “Rules and Regulations on the Registration and Licensing of Social Welfare and Development Agencies and Accreditation of Social Welfare and Development Programs and Services” which regulates and enforces social welfare and development standards to both public and private organizations in the country that engage in social welfare and development activities.
The VPHCS was given by the DSWD a Certificate of Registration and License to Operate as a social welfare and development agency (SWDA) on June 28, 2010. This means that the VPHCS is officially recognized by the DSWD as a SWA within the purview of social welfare and development and has a legal permit to operate as such.
Accreditation would mean that its programs and services have met the minimum standards set by the government
Being a registered and licensed SWA, the VPHCS is now included in the DSWD's Registry of Registered, Licensed and/or Accredited Social Welfare SWDAs, will receive technical assistance from the DSWD on programs and services implementation; can participate in DSWD's capability building and skills enhancement; can receive endorsement for duty free entry of foreign donations; and receive other benefits and privileges that may be provided from time to time.
After being accredited, the VPHCS shall also enjoy additional benefits including, for level 1 of accreditation, publication of VPHCS good practices and success stories in the DSWD publications and posting on the DSWD website; and endorsement of project proposals; level 2, paper presentation abroad, depending on available opportunities; and nomination for travel local and abroad to participate in relevant training/conferences as part of the Philippine delegation; and level 3, plaque of recognition and cash incentive; recognition a model SWDA and laboratory for trainings and research; and authority to undertake training on their expertise and to charge corresponding fees.
Mr. Perez went through the documents submitted by the VPHCS in its application for accreditation, including the VPHCS manual of operations, profile of employees, profile of the governing board, profile of clients, latest narrative reports and financial statements, and work and financial plan.
He also visited Sitio Back of Matimco, Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City, one of the project sites of the VPHCS, where he talked with community health workers and leaders of the people’s organization who are working with the VPHCS in its existing community-based health program.
Mr. Perez made several recommendations to improve the operations of the VPHCS which were welcomed by the management committee. An action plan was later signed by Mr. Perez and Petty Orbeta de Castro, VPHCS executive director signifying the intention of the VPHCS to comply with the said recommendations in order for its accreditation to be granted.
* certificate shall be granted based on the expiration date of the issued accreditation
* certificate. The accredited SWDAs shall receive the following additional benefits
* depending on the level of compliance to set standards:
c.l.
Level 1 of Accreditation
i. Documentation of good practices and success stories shall be featured in
DSWD annual report and Social Welfare and Development Journals as well
as posting on the DSWD website;
ii. Endorsement of project proposals; and
iii.Other
benefits and privileges may be provided from time to time as deemed
appropriate by the Department.
c.2. Level 2 of Accreditation
i.
Paper presentation abroad, depending on available opportunities; and
ii. Nomination
for travel local and abroad to participate In relevant
training/conferences as part of the Philippine delegation.
c.3. Level 3 of Accreditation
i.
Plaque of recognition and cash incentive;
ii. Recognized as a model SWDA and laboratory for trainings and research;
iii.Authority to undertake training on their expertise and charge corresponding
fees; and
iv.Recommendation
for a seat on appropriate councils in areas where expertise
is required.
Monday, October 11, 2010
VPHCS joins dengue campaign
The VPHCS has joined hands with government agencies, local government agencies and civil society groups to stop the dengue outbreak in Cebu.With people’s organizations in various urban poor communities where dengue cases have been reported or the population is vulnerable, the VPHCS is conducting health awareness drives on the cause of the dreaded viral disease and its signs and symptoms, and cleanliness drives to rid of mosquito breeding places.
On Sept. 18, VPHCS physician Dr. Erlinda Posadas and Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM) student Serah Allera discussed about dengue fever among the residents of Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Pasil. A resident also shared how her three children recently were admitted with the disease. Residents are now intensifying their cleanliness drives.
Dr.Erlinda Posadas with Pasil residents
CIM student Serah Allera talks about dengue with Pasil residentsOn Sept. 24, University of Southern Philippines (USP) nursing instructor Zane Omega and two nurse volunteers of VPHCS conducted a health education class with residents of Sitio Cahipa, Barangay Hipodromo. The activity was organized by the Nagkahiusang Lumolupyo sa Cahipa ug Bakante or NALCABA, the local people’s organization. Nearly 50 residents joined the activity.
USP nursing instructor talk about dengue in Hipodromo
Two nurses talk about the 4 S's in dengue
Hipodromo residents listen about dengueAnother dengue information drive was conducted in Sitio Back of Matimco in Subangdaku, Mandaue City on October 4.
Posters and leaflets from the Department of Health –Regional Office were distributed by the VPHCS in various urban poor communities.
Dengue campaign in Sitio Back of MatimcoThe VPHCS is also working with community health workers (CHW) and leaders of its partner people’s organizations in order to sustain the information drives and cleanliness campaigns in their communities.
The VPHCS is also set to conduct blood typing services among residents of dengue-prone communities in order to come up with a list of blood donors in emergency cases.
Pasil residents listen about dengue fever
Friday, October 8, 2010
Discussion on sexuality for USC students
VPHCS staff members Ms. Cheryl Lisa Padilla – Molina, R.N., Dr. Mark Molina, Lynsy Linao, R.N., and VPHCS volunteer nurse Ms. Jethamae Paglinawan recently gave a talk on sexuality among students of the University of San Carlos – Talamban Campus (USC-TC).
The students are all scholars of the Passerelles Numeriques studying Cebu Systems and Networks Administration (CSNA) in the USC-TC under the Computer Engineering Department. Passerelles Numeriques (PN) is a French non-government organization that provides Information Technology (IT) scholarship to underprivileged students from Visayas and some parts of Mindanao. There are presently 69 students enrolled in the first semester this schoolyear.
The information discussion on sexuality was held as part of the students’ developmental activity. The first was held for 25 second year students last September 25 and the second for 45 first year students last October 2. Topics covered included anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system, contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted diseases.
The Passerelles Numeriques (PN) was born in 2005 to help disadvantaged students to create a better future for themselves and their families by educating and training on Information Technology. It started its three year pilot training in Cebu City on June 2009 in partnership with the USC. The students are housed in a lodging center in Talamban near the school.
The students are all scholars of the Passerelles Numeriques studying Cebu Systems and Networks Administration (CSNA) in the USC-TC under the Computer Engineering Department. Passerelles Numeriques (PN) is a French non-government organization that provides Information Technology (IT) scholarship to underprivileged students from Visayas and some parts of Mindanao. There are presently 69 students enrolled in the first semester this schoolyear.
The information discussion on sexuality was held as part of the students’ developmental activity. The first was held for 25 second year students last September 25 and the second for 45 first year students last October 2. Topics covered included anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system, contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted diseases.
The Passerelles Numeriques (PN) was born in 2005 to help disadvantaged students to create a better future for themselves and their families by educating and training on Information Technology. It started its three year pilot training in Cebu City on June 2009 in partnership with the USC. The students are housed in a lodging center in Talamban near the school.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Health alliance assembly held
The second general assembly of a Bohol-based health alliance was held last Friday, Sept. 30, 2010 in Tagbilaran City in order to advance the health conditions of the Boholanos.The Alyansa sa Katawhan alang sa Maayong Panglawas (KAHIMSOG) is composed of people’s organizations in the grassroots, community health workers (CHWs), nurses, doctors and other health professionals, nursing students, non-government organizations and government agencies and other health advocates. It shall work to improve the health conditions in the province.
The assembly theme was: Iasdang ang katungod ug kaayuhan sa katawhan ug mga mamumuo sa panglawas para sa kahimsog. It was held at the conference room of the JJ’s Mandarin, Dimsum.
The assembly was graced by Bohol Provincial Board Member Chairman of the Committee on Health Dr. Ceasar Tomas “Yul” Lopez who expressed the government’s support to work with the Kahimsog, Ms. Angelita Maleriado, Provincial Health Office Public Health Nurse, Ms. Conchi Manhilot, Clinical Instructor-University of Bohol, Dr. Rosendo Lopez III, Head Dental Department in the Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, Sr. Gloria and Fr. Desiderio Magdoza of Rural Missionaries of the Phil. (RMP).
Leaders of the Hugpong sa mga Mag-uuma sa Bohol (HUMABOL) represented by William Boybanting and Danilo Olayvar, Paula Destor of Bol-anong Kahugpungan sa mga Kabus nga Nangisda (BOKKANA), Linda Salo (Sandigan sa mga Bol-anong Kababayen-an nga Nag-uma ug Nanagat (SABAKAN),and community health workers of people’s organizations, nurses, nursing students, also attended the activity.
Dr. Erlinda Posadas of the VPHCS talked on the national health situation. Dr. Erlinda Posadas and Ms. Lynsy Linao, staff members of the Visayas Primary Health Care Services (VPHCS) discussed the rationale of the reactivation of Kahimsog by discussing the health conditions of the Filipino people, the People’s Health Agenda presented by national progressive health groups to the Aquino government, and the community-based health programs as an alternative health care system.
The Kahimsog was formed in 1998. Among its achievements included the establishment of a health referral system of poor patients to health workers, medical missions in depressed communities, lobbying to increase the health budget in the LGUs and to make ambulance service free of charge, support to the campaign of the health professionals against the Medical Malpractice bill which was later shelved by Congress, and primary health care campaigns in marginalized communities.
Officers of the Kahimsog were elected by the body in the assembly. They are the following, namely:
Chairperson.............Olympia Maldos (P.O.)
Vice Chairperson........Peter John Filiseo (R.N.)
Sec. Gen. ..............Luz Yana (CHW)
Rep. Students..........Grace Dahan
Health Professionals....Dr. Rosendo Lopez III and Dr. Doloreich Dumaluan
CHW’s
D1..... Gardenia Pono
D2..... Vilma Fuentes
D3..... Shirley Butlig
P.O
Humabol..... Danilo Olayvar
Sabakan..... Linda Salo
Bokkana..... Paula Destor
Monday, October 4, 2010
Yo! Lead project report published
After four years, the project has more than a hundred trained youth leaders and peer educators from schools and communities in the three provinces who are knowledgeable on SRH issues, effective communication, project management, and leadership development.
The end of project document of the Yo! Lead project has been published.
The Yo!Lead or Youth on the Lead” is a leadership program of the VPHCS for youth–initiated adolescent reproductive health advocacy and services in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol and Occidental Negros, Philippines that aims to promote increased practice of healthy reproductive and sexual health (RSH) behaviors among the youth.
It is funded by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA- International).
The 40-page book synthesizes the highlights of the project which started in July 2006 and ended in June 2010. It also includes a summary of the sexual and reproductive health initiatives of 22 community-based youth organizations and seven school-based youth organizations in selected schools and communities in the three provinces with which the project worked. Best practices of four organizations and the Youth for Rights Network (Y4R) are also featured in the book. Various literary contributions are also included.
Harnessing their leadership and initiatives, the Yo! Lead project provided funds for the organizations to design and implement projects that increased the awareness and practice of healthy SRH behaviors and reproductive rights and increased access to, and utilization of rights-based SRH services among the youth in their localities. The project also provided static clinic and mobile health services and contraceptive commodities.
After four years, the project has more than a hundred trained youth leaders and peer educators from schools and communities in the three provinces who are knowledgeable on SRH issues, effective communication, project management, and leadership development. The project has reached out to more than 17,000 youth members through various worthwhile activities and experiences including needs assessments, focused group discussions, trainings on leadership and reproductive health, youth camps, peer educators’ trainings and other educational gatherings. All youth organizations have tremendously enhanced the awareness and practice of safe sexual and reproductive health behaviors, promoted reproductive rights, and increased access to and utilization of rights-based SRH services among their youth populace.
The project has proven that the youth themselves must be empowered to recognize and act upon their needs in order to sustain successful youth SRH programs. The project has also proven that such programs can work much better when the youth leaders receive inputs on technical concerns and leadership and are supported by a network of services and support from other stakeholders in the communities that meet their needs.
The Yo! Lead is truly a project developed and owned by the Visayan youth that responds to their very own issues and concerns.
The end of project document of the Yo! Lead project has been published. The Yo!Lead or Youth on the Lead” is a leadership program of the VPHCS for youth–initiated adolescent reproductive health advocacy and services in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol and Occidental Negros, Philippines that aims to promote increased practice of healthy reproductive and sexual health (RSH) behaviors among the youth.
It is funded by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA- International).
The 40-page book synthesizes the highlights of the project which started in July 2006 and ended in June 2010. It also includes a summary of the sexual and reproductive health initiatives of 22 community-based youth organizations and seven school-based youth organizations in selected schools and communities in the three provinces with which the project worked. Best practices of four organizations and the Youth for Rights Network (Y4R) are also featured in the book. Various literary contributions are also included.
Harnessing their leadership and initiatives, the Yo! Lead project provided funds for the organizations to design and implement projects that increased the awareness and practice of healthy SRH behaviors and reproductive rights and increased access to, and utilization of rights-based SRH services among the youth in their localities. The project also provided static clinic and mobile health services and contraceptive commodities.
After four years, the project has more than a hundred trained youth leaders and peer educators from schools and communities in the three provinces who are knowledgeable on SRH issues, effective communication, project management, and leadership development. The project has reached out to more than 17,000 youth members through various worthwhile activities and experiences including needs assessments, focused group discussions, trainings on leadership and reproductive health, youth camps, peer educators’ trainings and other educational gatherings. All youth organizations have tremendously enhanced the awareness and practice of safe sexual and reproductive health behaviors, promoted reproductive rights, and increased access to and utilization of rights-based SRH services among their youth populace.
The project has proven that the youth themselves must be empowered to recognize and act upon their needs in order to sustain successful youth SRH programs. The project has also proven that such programs can work much better when the youth leaders receive inputs on technical concerns and leadership and are supported by a network of services and support from other stakeholders in the communities that meet their needs.
The Yo! Lead is truly a project developed and owned by the Visayan youth that responds to their very own issues and concerns.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
At least P 90 Billion needed for Public Health System to Provide Services to the Poor – Health Groups
Is this proposed budget just a dream? A study conducted by health groups HEAD and AHW revealed that there are enough sources to fund a P90 billion ($$2.037 billion) health budget, if the Aquino government has the political will to do so.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — “In the face of dengue cases doubling this year (compared to last year), the health department’s budget for dengue and other communicable diseases did not increase,” said Dr. Gene Nisperos, vice-president of Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD). In fact, the Aquino government’s proposed budget for health in 2011 is so “very little and inadequate,” it “decreases the allotment for public hospitals and subsidy for indigent patients’ hospitalization,” said Emma S. Manuel, national president of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW).
“Expect the health services to worsen further in government hospitals,” the two health leaders warned, if Aquino’s proposed budget for health is not increased by Congress.
In hopes of arresting this downward trend in government prioritization of public health, AHW and HEAD have embarked on another campaign this year to prod Congress to increase the health department’s proposed 2011 budget, from the P32.028 billion ($724.9 million) it submitted to P90 billion ($2.037 billion).
The two health groups asked the Aquino government to walk the talk in prioritizing social services and instituting change or reforms.
This week the AHW and HEAD attended the congressional budget hearing to explain to legislators why the country needs “at least P90 billion for starters” to ensure that the public health care system “can address the most urgent health needs of the people.”
As early as last July, these health groups have been seeking an audience with President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino to discuss their doable proposals for improving the country’s health care. Unfortunately, they said, Aquino has so far failed to allot time for them.
AHW and HEAD said they have had a dialogue with Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona last July. Ona reportedly told them he believed the health department needed at least P60 billion ($1.358 billion) for next year. But the two health groups were disappointed to learn that the DOH has proposed only a “minuscule” P32.028-billion ($724.9 million).
In a press conference held last week, HEAD itemized why they came up with a minimum of P90 billion ($2.037 billion) proposed budget for health for 2011. The AHW and HEAD made it clear that only this amount, or more if possible, could indicate that Aquino is indeed serious in introducing change or reforms and treating the people as his “boss.”
The needed P90 billion ($2.037) health budget, they said, is not yet the ideal amount that could already spell change. But it will help the country’s public health care system to function without depending too much on pork barrel, squeezing its predominantly poor patients, or taking in profit-driven investors, said Nisperos.
The World Health Organization’s recommended health budget is at least five-percent of the country’s gross national product, or around P440 billion ($9.959 billion) for the Philippines.
Scary Plight of Philippine Public Hospitals
The current scenario in the country’s remaining 55 publicly-owned hospitals is such that with this year’s spike in dengue cases, for instance, two patients have to share one bed, said Emma Manuel of AHW. A child ill with dengue can still die while waiting in line in hospitals because of the lack in facilities and personnel, added Manuel.
She recalled a child with dengue who had a very low 40 platelet count when first brought at a government hospital’s emergency room. When he was finally admitted hours later, his platelet count had dwindled to a dangerously low 12.
“It is not the fault of health workers,” stressed Manuel. With so few of them compared to the number of patients, they also had to deal with scarce equipment, medicines and supplies. Thus, they could not attend to patients fast enough.
Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the health department’s epidemiology center, apologized to the public Wednesday as the so-called Dengue express-lanes in public hospitals have turned out to be “bagal (snail-paced) lanes,” due to lack of facilities, supplies and personnel.
Nisperos slammed the sorry fact that many public hospitals lack many basic equipment and supplies such as incubators, hospital beds, reagents and medicines. How much more, Nisperos said, when it comes to advanced medical equipment?
Worse, Nisperos said the present ratio today of nurses to patient and doctors to patients are very far removed from the World Health Organization’s prescriptions.
In the Philippines, a top exporter of nurses and other health professionals, nurses handle a ward of not just 15 patients, but three times that in public hospitals. A doctor for every 400 is deemed as healthy enough, but in the Philippines there is only one doctor for every 28,000 people, said Nisperos.
Even if nurses and doctors want to work in public hospitals, said Nisperos, there is no budget for additional plantilla positions for them. This results in perennially understaffed and overworked nurses and doctors in public hospitals, said Manuel.
The shortage in many emergency life-saving equipment and medicines in public hospitals, coupled with the fact that Filipinos now have to pay for a lot of things first (from laboratory fees to hospital supplies) before their illnesses can be diagnosed and treated, have been turning off many poor patients, said Manuel. The unfortunate result is either the patients go to public hospitals only when their illnesses have gotten too worse to treat, or they just die without medical care.
“No Filipino should be deprived of health services because he/she has no money. No Filipino should succumb to disease simply because there is no healthcare facility nearby. Women should not die of something so natural as pregnancy and child-delivery,” said Nisperos.
Dr. Gene Nisperos of the Health Alliance for Democracy says that the country needs a health budget of at least PhP90 billion. (Photo by Marya Salamat / bulatlat.com)
But based on the Aquino government’s proposed budget for health next year, the dire situation of scarce hospital facilities, supplies and personnel threaten to even get worse.
The budget for the 55 government hospitals nationwide would be slashed by P363.7million ($8.2 million), while the budget for other government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) hospitals would be trimmed of P970.6 million ($21 million), lamented the AHW. These GOCC hospitals include the Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney & Transplant Institute, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and Philippine Heart Center.
Required PhP90-B Health Budget in 2011 Realistic
Compared to the 2010 budget, Aquino’s 2011 budget has decreased much of the funds for basic services, said Nisperos.
Aquino’s national budget “stresses more the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines through increased budget for recruitment of additional soldiers, CAFGU, intelligence and arms procurement,” the AHW said in a statement. The health group warned that this could only “worsen militarization, counter-insurgency operations and result in more human rights violations and repression of the people.”
“The 2011 budget gives priority to defense as the third highest, with an 81 percent increase, and to debt payment (which is already almost a fourth of the entire national budget),” said Manuel. She calls it “ironic” because President Aquino often claims that providing social service is the priority of his administration and that his administration’s proposed budget is a “reform budget.”
Instead of Aquino’s P32.028-billion ($724.9 million) budget for health, the two health groups dared the Aquino administration to put money where its mouth is. “A P90 billion budget makes it feasible to work for immediate remedies to the most pressing health problems, while paving the way for more long-term solutions.”
The proposed PhP90-B health budget. (Prepared by HEAD and AHW)
The current major areas of health concern in the country are the focus of the P90 billion ($2.037 billion) health budget, as opposed to the minuscule P32.028 billion ($724.9 million) initially proposed by the health department, said the HEAD. The Philippines is in dire need of a P90 billion ($2.037 billion) budget to address the “lack of healthcare services, loss of health personnel and the need to focus on preventive aside from curative care.” The government also has to confront “chronic health problems such as high maternal deaths, prevalence and recurrence of infectious diseases and high prices of drugs.”
Is this proposed budget just a dream? A study conducted by HEAD revealed that there are enough sources to fund this alternative budget. The political will on the part of the government is what is needed, said Nisperos.
Aside from reallocating existing funds, HEAD suggests looking into trimming the P80 billion ($1.8 billion) increase in debt payments. There is also an estimated P170 billion ($3.8 billion) that could be made available if the government eliminates corruption. There are billions more of unpaid corporate taxes that the government needs only to muster the political will to collect, said Nisperos.
Saying if there is a will there is a way, Nisperos explained that the P90 billion ($2.037) health budget “is meant to ensure that the right to health is guaranteed and fulfilled by the Aquino government.” Toward ensuring this right, Nisperos said, their proposed health budget “challenges the current policy of healthcare privatization and the corporatization of government hospitals.”
Click here to view the original source.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — “In the face of dengue cases doubling this year (compared to last year), the health department’s budget for dengue and other communicable diseases did not increase,” said Dr. Gene Nisperos, vice-president of Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD). In fact, the Aquino government’s proposed budget for health in 2011 is so “very little and inadequate,” it “decreases the allotment for public hospitals and subsidy for indigent patients’ hospitalization,” said Emma S. Manuel, national president of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW).“Expect the health services to worsen further in government hospitals,” the two health leaders warned, if Aquino’s proposed budget for health is not increased by Congress.
In hopes of arresting this downward trend in government prioritization of public health, AHW and HEAD have embarked on another campaign this year to prod Congress to increase the health department’s proposed 2011 budget, from the P32.028 billion ($724.9 million) it submitted to P90 billion ($2.037 billion).
The two health groups asked the Aquino government to walk the talk in prioritizing social services and instituting change or reforms.
This week the AHW and HEAD attended the congressional budget hearing to explain to legislators why the country needs “at least P90 billion for starters” to ensure that the public health care system “can address the most urgent health needs of the people.”
As early as last July, these health groups have been seeking an audience with President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino to discuss their doable proposals for improving the country’s health care. Unfortunately, they said, Aquino has so far failed to allot time for them.
AHW and HEAD said they have had a dialogue with Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona last July. Ona reportedly told them he believed the health department needed at least P60 billion ($1.358 billion) for next year. But the two health groups were disappointed to learn that the DOH has proposed only a “minuscule” P32.028-billion ($724.9 million).
In a press conference held last week, HEAD itemized why they came up with a minimum of P90 billion ($2.037 billion) proposed budget for health for 2011. The AHW and HEAD made it clear that only this amount, or more if possible, could indicate that Aquino is indeed serious in introducing change or reforms and treating the people as his “boss.”
The needed P90 billion ($2.037) health budget, they said, is not yet the ideal amount that could already spell change. But it will help the country’s public health care system to function without depending too much on pork barrel, squeezing its predominantly poor patients, or taking in profit-driven investors, said Nisperos.
The World Health Organization’s recommended health budget is at least five-percent of the country’s gross national product, or around P440 billion ($9.959 billion) for the Philippines.
Scary Plight of Philippine Public Hospitals
The current scenario in the country’s remaining 55 publicly-owned hospitals is such that with this year’s spike in dengue cases, for instance, two patients have to share one bed, said Emma Manuel of AHW. A child ill with dengue can still die while waiting in line in hospitals because of the lack in facilities and personnel, added Manuel.
She recalled a child with dengue who had a very low 40 platelet count when first brought at a government hospital’s emergency room. When he was finally admitted hours later, his platelet count had dwindled to a dangerously low 12.
“It is not the fault of health workers,” stressed Manuel. With so few of them compared to the number of patients, they also had to deal with scarce equipment, medicines and supplies. Thus, they could not attend to patients fast enough.
Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the health department’s epidemiology center, apologized to the public Wednesday as the so-called Dengue express-lanes in public hospitals have turned out to be “bagal (snail-paced) lanes,” due to lack of facilities, supplies and personnel.
Nisperos slammed the sorry fact that many public hospitals lack many basic equipment and supplies such as incubators, hospital beds, reagents and medicines. How much more, Nisperos said, when it comes to advanced medical equipment?
Worse, Nisperos said the present ratio today of nurses to patient and doctors to patients are very far removed from the World Health Organization’s prescriptions.
In the Philippines, a top exporter of nurses and other health professionals, nurses handle a ward of not just 15 patients, but three times that in public hospitals. A doctor for every 400 is deemed as healthy enough, but in the Philippines there is only one doctor for every 28,000 people, said Nisperos.
Even if nurses and doctors want to work in public hospitals, said Nisperos, there is no budget for additional plantilla positions for them. This results in perennially understaffed and overworked nurses and doctors in public hospitals, said Manuel.
The shortage in many emergency life-saving equipment and medicines in public hospitals, coupled with the fact that Filipinos now have to pay for a lot of things first (from laboratory fees to hospital supplies) before their illnesses can be diagnosed and treated, have been turning off many poor patients, said Manuel. The unfortunate result is either the patients go to public hospitals only when their illnesses have gotten too worse to treat, or they just die without medical care.
“No Filipino should be deprived of health services because he/she has no money. No Filipino should succumb to disease simply because there is no healthcare facility nearby. Women should not die of something so natural as pregnancy and child-delivery,” said Nisperos.
Dr. Gene Nisperos of the Health Alliance for Democracy says that the country needs a health budget of at least PhP90 billion. (Photo by Marya Salamat / bulatlat.com)
But based on the Aquino government’s proposed budget for health next year, the dire situation of scarce hospital facilities, supplies and personnel threaten to even get worse.
The budget for the 55 government hospitals nationwide would be slashed by P363.7million ($8.2 million), while the budget for other government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) hospitals would be trimmed of P970.6 million ($21 million), lamented the AHW. These GOCC hospitals include the Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney & Transplant Institute, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and Philippine Heart Center.
Required PhP90-B Health Budget in 2011 Realistic
Compared to the 2010 budget, Aquino’s 2011 budget has decreased much of the funds for basic services, said Nisperos.
Aquino’s national budget “stresses more the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines through increased budget for recruitment of additional soldiers, CAFGU, intelligence and arms procurement,” the AHW said in a statement. The health group warned that this could only “worsen militarization, counter-insurgency operations and result in more human rights violations and repression of the people.”
“The 2011 budget gives priority to defense as the third highest, with an 81 percent increase, and to debt payment (which is already almost a fourth of the entire national budget),” said Manuel. She calls it “ironic” because President Aquino often claims that providing social service is the priority of his administration and that his administration’s proposed budget is a “reform budget.”
Instead of Aquino’s P32.028-billion ($724.9 million) budget for health, the two health groups dared the Aquino administration to put money where its mouth is. “A P90 billion budget makes it feasible to work for immediate remedies to the most pressing health problems, while paving the way for more long-term solutions.”
The proposed PhP90-B health budget. (Prepared by HEAD and AHW)
The current major areas of health concern in the country are the focus of the P90 billion ($2.037 billion) health budget, as opposed to the minuscule P32.028 billion ($724.9 million) initially proposed by the health department, said the HEAD. The Philippines is in dire need of a P90 billion ($2.037 billion) budget to address the “lack of healthcare services, loss of health personnel and the need to focus on preventive aside from curative care.” The government also has to confront “chronic health problems such as high maternal deaths, prevalence and recurrence of infectious diseases and high prices of drugs.”
Is this proposed budget just a dream? A study conducted by HEAD revealed that there are enough sources to fund this alternative budget. The political will on the part of the government is what is needed, said Nisperos.
Aside from reallocating existing funds, HEAD suggests looking into trimming the P80 billion ($1.8 billion) increase in debt payments. There is also an estimated P170 billion ($3.8 billion) that could be made available if the government eliminates corruption. There are billions more of unpaid corporate taxes that the government needs only to muster the political will to collect, said Nisperos.
Saying if there is a will there is a way, Nisperos explained that the P90 billion ($2.037) health budget “is meant to ensure that the right to health is guaranteed and fulfilled by the Aquino government.” Toward ensuring this right, Nisperos said, their proposed health budget “challenges the current policy of healthcare privatization and the corporatization of government hospitals.”
Click here to view the original source.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
ACT program officer visit in Bohol
Program Officer Megumi Nishijima recently visited Bohol in order to gain first-hand experience of the progress of its project being implemented in partnership with the Visayas Primary Health Care Services, Inc.Ms. Nishijima visited Barangay Sto. Nino in the Municipality of San Miguel and Barangay Caluasan in the Municipality of Dagohoy last Sept. 6-7 in line with the ongoing project “Building community-based health programs to promote health and prevent disease in Bohol.”
Ms. Nishijima talked with leaders of the farmers’ organization in Sto. Nino, the Hugpong Mag-uuma sa San Miguel (HUMASA) or the Farmers Association in San Miguel and the farmers’ organization Mga Mag-Uuma sa LACALSANDA Apektado sa Land Levelling (MALALA) (Farmers in Lacalsanda affected by Land levelling) in Caluasan.
The farmers shared with her how their communities have been adversely affected by the failure of the Malinao Dam Project which has worsened their economic situation that in turn affected their health conditions.
Ms. Nishijima also visited San Miguel Municipal Vice-Mayor Jonathan Reyes, Dagohoy Municipal Mayor Hermie Relampagos and Dagohoy Municipal Health Officer Dr. Hermogenes Ricafort.
Ms. Nishijima also visited Sitio Back of Matimco, Subangdaku,Mandaue on Sept. 8. The urban poor community has an ongoing community-based health program (CBHP) developed by its residents’ organization KALUWASAN and the VPHCS. Members of the health committee shared their health activities and experiences with Ms. Nishijima.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Proposed budget shows diminishing priority for health
Lifted from IBON Foundation's website. Click to see the original source.
Contrary to the Aquino government’s target of expanding the coverage of healthcare for all, the proposed national budget for 2011 has allotted a decreased budget for public hospitals and subsidy for indigents, according to research group IBON.
The 2010 budget item “Premium Subsidy for Indigents under the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP)” of Php5.17 billion falls to zero in 2011. If this has been transferred to the 2011 budget item “Subsidy for Health Insurance Premium of Indigent Families including for Informal Sector Enrolled in the National Health Insurance Program” which only increases by Php3.5 billion, then this implies that subsidies for indigents under the NHIP actually falls by Php1.67 billion.
Budget allocation for 55 public hospitals nationwide also falls by Php363.7 million – from Php5.2 billion in 2010 to Php4.8 billion in 2011. Moreover the budget for specialty hospitals (i.e. Lung Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center and Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care) falls by Php970.6 million.
At the same time the subsidy to indigent patients for confinement or use of specialized equipment falls by Php20 million – or more than half – from Php36 million in 2010 to Php16 million in 2011. Budget for 12 major public hospitals (i.e. Jose Reyes Memorial, Rizal Medical, East Avenue Medical, Quirino Memorial, Tondo Medical, Jose Fabella Memorial, National Children’s Hospital, National Center for Mental Health, Philippine Orthopedic, San Lazaro, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Amang Rodriguez Medical) falls by Php4 million.
However, amid the falling budgets for public hospitals, IBON notes that military hospitals have increased allocations in the proposed budget. For instance, the budget of the AFP Medical Center increases by Php168 million, from Php923.5 million (2010) to Php1.091 billion (2011), while that of Veterans Memorial Medical Center increases by Php130.7 million.
One of the Aquino governments supposed priority projects is to give ordinary citizens, especially the poor and elderly, access to quality professional healthcare. However falling government spending on health, especially for those who cannot afford to pay for healthcare and rely on subsidized government services, show a continuing pattern of government's neglect of the public health sector. (end)
Contrary to the Aquino government’s target of expanding the coverage of healthcare for all, the proposed national budget for 2011 has allotted a decreased budget for public hospitals and subsidy for indigents, according to research group IBON.
The 2010 budget item “Premium Subsidy for Indigents under the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP)” of Php5.17 billion falls to zero in 2011. If this has been transferred to the 2011 budget item “Subsidy for Health Insurance Premium of Indigent Families including for Informal Sector Enrolled in the National Health Insurance Program” which only increases by Php3.5 billion, then this implies that subsidies for indigents under the NHIP actually falls by Php1.67 billion.
Budget allocation for 55 public hospitals nationwide also falls by Php363.7 million – from Php5.2 billion in 2010 to Php4.8 billion in 2011. Moreover the budget for specialty hospitals (i.e. Lung Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center and Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care) falls by Php970.6 million.
At the same time the subsidy to indigent patients for confinement or use of specialized equipment falls by Php20 million – or more than half – from Php36 million in 2010 to Php16 million in 2011. Budget for 12 major public hospitals (i.e. Jose Reyes Memorial, Rizal Medical, East Avenue Medical, Quirino Memorial, Tondo Medical, Jose Fabella Memorial, National Children’s Hospital, National Center for Mental Health, Philippine Orthopedic, San Lazaro, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Amang Rodriguez Medical) falls by Php4 million.
However, amid the falling budgets for public hospitals, IBON notes that military hospitals have increased allocations in the proposed budget. For instance, the budget of the AFP Medical Center increases by Php168 million, from Php923.5 million (2010) to Php1.091 billion (2011), while that of Veterans Memorial Medical Center increases by Php130.7 million.
One of the Aquino governments supposed priority projects is to give ordinary citizens, especially the poor and elderly, access to quality professional healthcare. However falling government spending on health, especially for those who cannot afford to pay for healthcare and rely on subsidized government services, show a continuing pattern of government's neglect of the public health sector. (end)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Building Community-based Health Programs to Promote Health and Prevent Disease in Bohol
The Visayas Primary Health Care Services, Inc. (VPHCS), with the support of the Asian Community Trust (ACT) has been implementing a project “Building community-based health programs to promote health and prevent disease in Bohol.”
The project areas are Barangay Sto. Nino in the Municipality of San Miguel and Barangay Caluasan in the Municipality of Dagohoy in Bohol. The communities have been affected by the failure of the Malinao Dam Project which has worsened their economic situation that in turn affected their health conditions.
The project which started in April 2010 works with the farmers’ organization in Sto. Nino, the Hugpong Mag-uuma sa San Miguel (HUMASA) or the Farmers Association in San Miguel and the farmers’ organization Mga Mag-Uuma sa LACALSANDA Apektado sa Land Levelling (MALALA) (Farmers in Lacalsanda affected by Land levelling) in Caluasan.
A basic health skills training was conducted last August 9 – 14 for community health workers (CHWs) in order to equip them with knowledge and skills to build community based health programs which shall address the common health problems in their communities.
Capacity building is a primary strategy in the project which will enable the CHWs and the leaders of the people’s organizations to launch health campaigns that will address the prevalence of common preventable and communicable diseases. Direct health services by project staff and volunteer health professionals shall also address the diseases in the communities.
The Asian Community Trust (ACT), Japan's first fund raising-style charitable trust, was established in 1979 to assist people at the grass-roots level in Asian developing countries. It has supported projects in more than five Asian countries, in fields spanning health, medical treatment, education, youth training, and development of rural communities. It has funded several projects in urban poor settlers and fishermen communities in Cebu.
Health programs that answer the health needs of the communities shall be instituted in the project by the trained CHWs together with the leaders and members of their people’s organizations. Community participation and involvement in designing the health programs appropriate for the communities shall be ensured as it is a hallmark in community-based health programs and is the cornerstone in the primary health care approach of health service delivery.
The health programs are based on results of surveys and key informant interviews that gathered data on the socio-demographic profile and health data including common health problems, causes of deaths, the immunization status and nutritional status of preschoolers, health services available in the community, methods of family planning and nutritional and food practices of the families.
The project areas are Barangay Sto. Nino in the Municipality of San Miguel and Barangay Caluasan in the Municipality of Dagohoy in Bohol. The communities have been affected by the failure of the Malinao Dam Project which has worsened their economic situation that in turn affected their health conditions.
The project which started in April 2010 works with the farmers’ organization in Sto. Nino, the Hugpong Mag-uuma sa San Miguel (HUMASA) or the Farmers Association in San Miguel and the farmers’ organization Mga Mag-Uuma sa LACALSANDA Apektado sa Land Levelling (MALALA) (Farmers in Lacalsanda affected by Land levelling) in Caluasan.
A basic health skills training was conducted last August 9 – 14 for community health workers (CHWs) in order to equip them with knowledge and skills to build community based health programs which shall address the common health problems in their communities.
Capacity building is a primary strategy in the project which will enable the CHWs and the leaders of the people’s organizations to launch health campaigns that will address the prevalence of common preventable and communicable diseases. Direct health services by project staff and volunteer health professionals shall also address the diseases in the communities.
The Asian Community Trust (ACT), Japan's first fund raising-style charitable trust, was established in 1979 to assist people at the grass-roots level in Asian developing countries. It has supported projects in more than five Asian countries, in fields spanning health, medical treatment, education, youth training, and development of rural communities. It has funded several projects in urban poor settlers and fishermen communities in Cebu.
Health programs that answer the health needs of the communities shall be instituted in the project by the trained CHWs together with the leaders and members of their people’s organizations. Community participation and involvement in designing the health programs appropriate for the communities shall be ensured as it is a hallmark in community-based health programs and is the cornerstone in the primary health care approach of health service delivery.
The health programs are based on results of surveys and key informant interviews that gathered data on the socio-demographic profile and health data including common health problems, causes of deaths, the immunization status and nutritional status of preschoolers, health services available in the community, methods of family planning and nutritional and food practices of the families.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Medical mission in Totolan, Dauis, Bohol
Nearly 100 children were rendered health services in a medical mission organized by the Visayas Primary Health Care Services (VPHCS) and the Nagkahiusang Mangigisda sa Totolan (NAMATO) (United Fisherfolks in Totolan) in Dauis, Bohol last July 24, 2010.Volunteers Dr. Jose Edgar Alonso, Dr. Aira Baroro, five nurse members of the Students Alliance for Community Health Services (SACHS) in Tagbilaran City, a nursing graduate of the Cebu Doctors University Hospital and staff of the VPHCS led by Dr. Petty Orbeta-de Castro and Dr. Grace Molina rendered the services which included visual acuity, height and weight determination, urinalysis, dental check-up and medical check-up.
Totolan is a fishing community located in Dauis. It is one of the community-based health program (CBHP) areas of the VPHCS in a continuing project supported by the Action Solidarite Tiers Monde. It has a population of 3,626 or 330 households.
The PEOPLE’S HEALTH AGENDA
Health is a right that continues to be denied of Filipinos. Addressing the worsening state of the people’s health is one of the biggest challenges facing the Aquino administration. The Filipinos continue to suffer from dismal health situation amidst projection from the past Arroyo administration of improved health outcomes. Infectious and preventable diseases continue to top causes of mortality and morbidity. Malnutrition and diseases of poverty like tuberculosis plague poor communities. Needless deaths of pregnant women remain high at 170 per 100,000 live births.
The inadequacy and inaccessibility of public health services is worsening. Seventy percent of Filipinos cannot afford to buy their medicines, even with the passage of the Universal Cheaper Medicine Law and the lowering of prices of medications through the Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP). Public hospitals have been charging for every supply, laboratory and diagnostic procedures that used to be free. Privatization of public hospitals has made health services more expensive.
Doctors, nurses and other health care providers are witnesses to the hardships of Filipino patients in the hospitals and the communities. Poor patients whose welfare should be prioritized by the government are drained of hard-earned income whenever they get sick or hospitalized. Many patients delay consulting with health personnel because they cannot afford the high cost of hospitalization and medicines.
Even with the presence of the National Health Insurance Program (Philhealth), there are still gaps in its coverage. Card issued by Phil health is not accepted by most private hospitals and also meaningless in poorly-provisioned public hospitals with no medicines.
Despite the commitment of health professionals and health workers to serve, with the prevailing condition – many of them are pushed to go abroad by extreme poverty, unemployment, low salaries and benefits, inhumane working conditions, and political instability. Some 3,000 Filipinos including health care providers leave for abroad everyday. This leads to the aggravation of present health crisis.
There are disparities in the distribution of the health workforce. Seventy percent of all health workers employed in the private sector serve 30 percent of the population, while 30 percent employed in government services cater to the majority. Vast majority of health care professionals are in lucrative private practice in urban areas despite the fact that 60 percent of Filipinos die without the benefit of health professional attention.
Local health systems are weakened due to loss of key staff and decreased capacity to deliver essential front-line health services by rural health units (RHU), barangay health stations (BHS) and private health sector. Referral hospitals (core referral and end referral) run mainly by provincial, city governments and the Department of Health (DOH) are unresponsive to current constraints and inefficient, near-empty hospitals coexist with overcrowded and resource-poor provincial and tertiary hospitals.
Health workers are still overworked yet underpaid. Salary increases under the Salary Standardization Law are inadequate based on experiences of health workers considering the high cost of basic commodities. There is no line allotment for Magna Carta benefits in many hospitals. Understaffing problems continue to exist as there is no allotment for additional plantilla positions despite increased bed capacity and building expansions. Volunteers and trainees fill up the staffing deficiencies as free labor force while paying for their “training”.
Due to poor working condition of the health workers, they are pushed to work abroad. The Philippines has been the number one exporter of nurses and number two exporter of doctors in the world for several years. Yet hundreds of hospitals have closed down throughout the country due to the lack of health personnel, with hundreds more on the brink of closure. Health workers working in rural communities are also subjected to various forms of harassment by the State, including arbitrary arrests like the Morong 43 health workers.
The onslaught of natural calamities has made worse the inadequacy of dismal state-run health care facilities.
During the term of Pres. Arroyo, the national health budget did not address the chronic health distress. This year 2010, a minuscule P33.7B budget for the Department of Health and attached agencies reflects the callousness of the administration of the then Arroyo administration to people’s health and welfare. The health budget comprises a measly 2.2 percent of the P1.54 trillion national budget. This translates to a measly P0.98/day per Filipino.
Spending on health is only 3 percent of the annual Gross National Product, a far cry from the recommendation of the World Health Organization of 5 percent spending. Most of spending for health is out of pocket at 49 percent, while government spends 40 percent and social insurance at 11 percent.
The dismal condition of our people’s health reflects the apathy of the outgoing Arroyo government to the plight of the poor. Hold the Arroyo government accountable for the worsening health situation of the people!
For this reason we are calling on the incoming Aquino administration to immediately (on its first 100 days) act on the following health agenda :
1. Free the 43 illegally arrested and detained health workers.
2. Provide an adequate health budget. Immediately increase the national budget for health to at least P 90 billion.
3. Provide free health services for the poor in all levels of health care.
4. Provide free essential medicines for the poor in rural health centers and public hospitals.
5. Full implemention of salary increase for health workers: Immediately implement legislated P3,000 increase in base pay. Implement Salary Grade 15 (P24,887) for entry position of Nurse I. Inrease salary of doctor to P50,000 monthly.
6. Ensure full implementation of health workers benefits like Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), subsistence pay and hazard pay. Allocate funds for benefits.
7. Stop privatization/commercialization of government hospitals.
8. Provide adequate number of health professionals like doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists to far flung areas nationwide.
9. Prosecute the Arroyo administration for human rights violations and other crimes against the people.
For substantial change, let us work for following people’s health agenda:
1. Ensure the people’s right to health
Provide an adequate health budget that is commensurate to the needs of Filipinos. Allocate at least 5 percent (P440 billion) of the Gross National Product (GNP) for health in the national government budget. Immediately increase the national budget for health to at least P 90 billion.
Provide efficient, affordable and accessible healthcare for the people. Provide free health services for the poor at all levels of care.
Provide safe, affordable and accessible medicines for all. Provide free essential medicines for the poor in rural health centers, and government hospitals.
Develop and strengthen public health care system. Promote and set up community-based approach to health care nationwide. Put emphasis on the following nutrition, immunization and environmental sanitation.
Provide effective and efficient programs aimed to eliminate TB, malaria, dengue and other infectious diseases, as well as emerging and rising diseases like HIV/AIDS.
Ensure adequate tertiary and curative healthcare. Set up public hospitals in far flung areas. Upgrade and rehabilitate existing hospitals --primary, secondary, and tertiary in far flung areas.
Ensure the equitable distribution of health personnel, resources, and funds throughout the archipelago.
Nationalize drug industry so as to provide safe, accessible, affordable, and effective medicine. Regulate operations of transnational pharmaceutical companies.
2. Promote and uphold the interests of health professionals and health workers
Provide adequate remuneration for health personnel both public and private. Promote the viable personal and career development of health personnel to encourage them to stay and serve in the rural areas.
Ensure job security and stop contractualization, job-order schemes, and similar anti-health workers programs in government hospitals, health institutions and agencies.
Immediately provide benefits. Ensure safe and humane working conditions.
Uphold the rights of health workers to organize and unionize. Promote their participation in decision-making.
Uphold and protect the rights of community health workers as health care providers.
3. Implement progressive health policies and programs
Institutionalize participatory decision and policy-making. Strengthen transparency and accountability at all levels of health governance.
Ensure people’s participation in health policy and program formulation.
Strengthen public health care. Stop privatization as the core health policy. Stop the corporatization and commercialization of public hospitals.
Promote nationalist, scientific, and mass-based healthcare services and health education.
Develop and train health human resources based on health needs of the Filipino people. Stop commercialization of nursing and medical education.
Implement the national drug policy.
Promote and develop indigenous health care knowledge and practices.
Develop self-reliant research program anchored primarily on the needs of the Filipino people.
Stop policies, programs and projects that are hazardous and inappropriate to the needs of the Filipino people, the like Japan Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), and the Philippine Mining Act.
Stop the labor export policy and brain-drain of health professionals.
4. Ensure the people’s overall well-being and address the social determinants of health
Provide jobs. Provide living wages for workers and ensure job security.
Ensure food security and eradicate malnutrition. Implement genuine land reform program and national industrialization.
Ensure adequate shelter/housing and other social services for the people.
HEALTH SECTOR SUPPORTS PEOPLES’ AGENDA
Health is a direct result of the socio-economic well being of the people. In order to achieve better health for the Filipino people, genuine change in political and economic fields should take place. With this, the health sector actively supports the following people’s agenda for change:
1. Prosecute GMA and cohorts for crimes against the Filipino people:
• Human rights violations – enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, illegal detention including the case of 43 health workers
• Electoral fraud
• Corruption
2. Provide immediate economic relief for the people:
• Repeal of VAT reform Law. No to additional taxes.
• Passage of a substantial legislated wage hike nationwide
• Moratorium of demolition of poor communities
• No tuition fee increase
• Provide free health services and medicines for the poor
3. Ensure that adequate resources are available to meet the people’s pressing needs:
• Ensure that the 2011 budget will provide adequate budget for social services
• Repeal the automatic appropriation act
4. Review/repeal the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Japan Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), and other anti-people laws
5. Resume peace negotiation. As confidence building and goodwill measures free all political prisoners including the 43 health workers
6. Legislate a genuine agrarian reform bill (GARB).
* Photo credit - People's Health Movement website http://www.phmovement.org/en
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Global health care needs in rural areas: An essay
By Lilia G. Hernandez, MD
There is a town in south central Washington, between the more progressive cities of Yakima and the Tri Cities (comprised of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick). Speed limit is at 35mph, 25 at most streets, 20 when children are present. And there are many of them, giving me a first impression this must be a town of young families. (Pop: 38.1% <18 yrs.)
I first arrived here March 15th 2010, when the temperatures were 30s Fahrenheit at night, 50s during the day. My first impression was of a flat land, most are planted, miles of vineyards and hops along the highway. There are small rolling hills into which the vineyards are inching up. In the early morning, the cool air smells of cow dung, which the locals call the smell of money, the sure reminder you are at Sunnyside, WA. This was desert land until damming of Columbia River provided irrigation that transformed the land and wealth of the area.
I came to work at a Pediatric Clinic to help a doctor who has been the only Pediatrician in this town for over 20 years. When the local hospital wanted to expand services, it opened clinics around the hospital and in neighboring towns. Dr. Anne Nealen used to be a missionary in Africa, working there for over 2 years, before getting married and settling in this town. Her pediatrics practice was absorbed into the Sunnyside Community Clinics and after over 2 years of recruiting, the hospital hired a 2nd pediatrician who stayed for 2 ½ years. Dr. Mario Tobia was of Filipino heritage, married to a Caucasian Canadian lady. When he left, I came as a locum tenens to fill in until a new doctor could be hired.
I soon learned the obvious, that this is a farming community. The population are >85% Hispanic who work the fields and farms. The Clinic population reflected this. Darigold and other dairy farms are located here, so are acres and acres of farmland for apples, grapes, hops. Many of the mothers I see are seasonal workers, many of the fathers work “en el campo” or with cows. One of the large clinic systems here is the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinics (YVFC). The Yakima TV station (KIMA) estimated the undocumented aliens here are as much as 40% of the Hispanic population.
As I go through my day at the Clinic, I quickly note that most of my patients do not speak English. The office workers are very ready to assist me in translating if the case is more complicated (ADHD, congenital defect, etc) but I am so glad for the Spanish we had to take in college and the vocabulary I had picked up practicing in California, before “retiring” and doing locum tenens.
On my first week, I was struck by the number of congenital anomalies I was seeing: 2 girls of about the same age with only 1 normal external ear, the other side had no ear canal, and only a small stub for pinna (microtia). Children born here (documented citizens) with various congenital defects and developmental delay. Seattle’s Children’s Hospital have specialists see many of them at the Children’s Village at Yakima, a site created so parents and children can see multiple specialists at the same site in one day. After a couple of weeks, I started asking if there were data showing the percentage of the population with congenital anomalies, ADHD, depression and various mental illness. It just seemed inordinately higher to me compared with populations of other towns I had been to before. I was wondering if this was simply an impression on me. After all, the waiting period to get into the Children’s Village for neurodevelopmental or other specialists’ evaluation was over 7-9 months. No one seems to be aware of any data. No one thought the presence of the Columbia River, once polluted by the Hanford nuclear facilities in WWII would be a cause or a factor. Much of the economy of the TriCities was fueled by the nuclear clean-up (Google Hanford).
As I see these children in the streets, and their parents, the immigration debate came to my mind. Here is another dimension that is not talked about. Clearly, these men and women work the fields to get America fed at the price we pay in the groceries. The American Academy of Pediatrics has noted in one email that fertilizers may be responsible for learning and developmental defects. Are many of these men and women, in their effort to earn for their families, who risk their lives crossing the river, irrigation canal, or the desert at the border, also inadvertently risk the future of their children? If these are not “undocumented” “illegal immigrants”, would there be a study made, a louder outcry? Or is this just an impression, not based on statistical analyses, on a pediatrician who has dedicated over 25 years of her adult life to the care of children in the United States?
I have a Hispanic last name but of Asian descent. I am a citizen of the world, an immigrant before becoming a citizen of this country, and my travels have helped me look at the human race as inherently one.
There is a town in south central Washington, between the more progressive cities of Yakima and the Tri Cities (comprised of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick). Speed limit is at 35mph, 25 at most streets, 20 when children are present. And there are many of them, giving me a first impression this must be a town of young families. (Pop: 38.1% <18 yrs.)
I first arrived here March 15th 2010, when the temperatures were 30s Fahrenheit at night, 50s during the day. My first impression was of a flat land, most are planted, miles of vineyards and hops along the highway. There are small rolling hills into which the vineyards are inching up. In the early morning, the cool air smells of cow dung, which the locals call the smell of money, the sure reminder you are at Sunnyside, WA. This was desert land until damming of Columbia River provided irrigation that transformed the land and wealth of the area.
I came to work at a Pediatric Clinic to help a doctor who has been the only Pediatrician in this town for over 20 years. When the local hospital wanted to expand services, it opened clinics around the hospital and in neighboring towns. Dr. Anne Nealen used to be a missionary in Africa, working there for over 2 years, before getting married and settling in this town. Her pediatrics practice was absorbed into the Sunnyside Community Clinics and after over 2 years of recruiting, the hospital hired a 2nd pediatrician who stayed for 2 ½ years. Dr. Mario Tobia was of Filipino heritage, married to a Caucasian Canadian lady. When he left, I came as a locum tenens to fill in until a new doctor could be hired.
I soon learned the obvious, that this is a farming community. The population are >85% Hispanic who work the fields and farms. The Clinic population reflected this. Darigold and other dairy farms are located here, so are acres and acres of farmland for apples, grapes, hops. Many of the mothers I see are seasonal workers, many of the fathers work “en el campo” or with cows. One of the large clinic systems here is the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinics (YVFC). The Yakima TV station (KIMA) estimated the undocumented aliens here are as much as 40% of the Hispanic population.
As I go through my day at the Clinic, I quickly note that most of my patients do not speak English. The office workers are very ready to assist me in translating if the case is more complicated (ADHD, congenital defect, etc) but I am so glad for the Spanish we had to take in college and the vocabulary I had picked up practicing in California, before “retiring” and doing locum tenens.
On my first week, I was struck by the number of congenital anomalies I was seeing: 2 girls of about the same age with only 1 normal external ear, the other side had no ear canal, and only a small stub for pinna (microtia). Children born here (documented citizens) with various congenital defects and developmental delay. Seattle’s Children’s Hospital have specialists see many of them at the Children’s Village at Yakima, a site created so parents and children can see multiple specialists at the same site in one day. After a couple of weeks, I started asking if there were data showing the percentage of the population with congenital anomalies, ADHD, depression and various mental illness. It just seemed inordinately higher to me compared with populations of other towns I had been to before. I was wondering if this was simply an impression on me. After all, the waiting period to get into the Children’s Village for neurodevelopmental or other specialists’ evaluation was over 7-9 months. No one seems to be aware of any data. No one thought the presence of the Columbia River, once polluted by the Hanford nuclear facilities in WWII would be a cause or a factor. Much of the economy of the TriCities was fueled by the nuclear clean-up (Google Hanford).
As I see these children in the streets, and their parents, the immigration debate came to my mind. Here is another dimension that is not talked about. Clearly, these men and women work the fields to get America fed at the price we pay in the groceries. The American Academy of Pediatrics has noted in one email that fertilizers may be responsible for learning and developmental defects. Are many of these men and women, in their effort to earn for their families, who risk their lives crossing the river, irrigation canal, or the desert at the border, also inadvertently risk the future of their children? If these are not “undocumented” “illegal immigrants”, would there be a study made, a louder outcry? Or is this just an impression, not based on statistical analyses, on a pediatrician who has dedicated over 25 years of her adult life to the care of children in the United States?
I have a Hispanic last name but of Asian descent. I am a citizen of the world, an immigrant before becoming a citizen of this country, and my travels have helped me look at the human race as inherently one.
The People’s Health Agenda for the Aquino administration
The Visayas Primary Health Care Services, Inc (VPHCS) and the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW)-Cebu Chapter have joined the campaign for the adoption of the People’s Health Agenda by the Aquino administration. It was launched last June by various national health groups including the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), the AHW and the Council for Health and Development (CHD).
The People’s Health Agenda calls for the prioritization of people’s health and measures to improve health and health workers’ conditions.
The Agenda was presented by AHW National Secretary-general Jossel Ebesate during a forum sponsored by the VPHCS and AHW-Cebu Chapter on August 6, 2010 at the Visayas Community Medical Center (VCMC). The forum was attended by various health professionals, students and workers.
The Agenda includes among others, namely:
• Immediate release of 43 illegally-detained health workers arrested last February 6 in Morong, Rizal.
• Immediate increase of the national health budget to at least P 90 billion.
• Provision of free health services for the poor in all levels of health care.
• Provision of free essential medicines for the poor in rural health centers and public hospitals.
• Full implemention of salary increase for nurses, doctors and other health workers
• Full implementation of health workers benefits like Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), subsistence pay and hazard pay.
• A stop to privatization/commercialization of government hospitals.
• Provision of adequate number of health professionals like doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists to far flung areas nationwide.
The People’s Health Agenda shall be presented to President Aquino this month.
The VPHCS and AHW-Cebu lamented that patients and health workers have suffered long enough in the past years from decreasing health and hospital budget, inadequacy and increasing cost of public health services, and low salaries and inhumane working conditions that push most health professionals to go abroad. Poor patients are dying because they cannot afford medicines and health services even in public hospitals. Health workers are demoralized because they cannot give quality and effective health services despite their best efforts.
“Like most of our fellow Filipinos, we are hopeful that the new administration will listen and be responsive to our people’s health needs,” VPHCS physician Dr. Erlinda Posadas said.
The AHW is a 21,000-strong national organization of health workers from national government hospitals, rural health units, private hospitals, clinics and organizations. It has been in the forefront of health workers’ fight for health workers’ concerns and better services for patients. It is instrumental in pushing for the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers (RA 7305), the law that provides for economic benefits and rights to public health workers.
Monday, July 12, 2010
“Health for all”: The staying power of community-based health programs
By Aurora Fernandez, R.N.Rosario was quiet and subdued as she slowly walked towards us. Coming closer, it was plain to see how pale and weak she was. Three weeks earlier, she had agonized through 14 hours of breech childbirth, soaking five blankets with blood and without a midwife, delivered a stillborn baby. Shortly afterwards, the midwife showed up to assess the afterbirth and without any compunction, asked for P100.00.
The 33-year-old mother of four, complacent that her previous deliveries had been problem-free, had no prenatal care, even though her husband had urged her several times to see the doctor at the nearby Barangay Health Unit.
Now she was bleeding again, with blood clots the size of fists. She urgently needed hospitalization for a blood transfusion and dilatation and curettage (D & C).
But how to pay for it? Her husband was a gravedigger at the Liloan cemetery, and when there were no funerals, he cut down and pounded buli (a palm tree) trunks all day long to produce enough landang (palm flour) for binignit (a dessert with coconut milk). Lack of money meant their 12-year-old eldest son didn’t start school until last year.
Despite her protests, Rosario was persuaded to go to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center by volunteers and staff of the Visayas Primary Health Care Services (VPHCS). Dr. Erlinda Posadas of VPHCS admitted her and coordinated her treatment, even obtaining the medications and supplies on credit from an outside pharmacy. Working with the radiologist and OB-GYN physician, Dr. Posadas made sure the patient was promptly seen and a successful D & C performed at 11:00 PM the same day, following an ultrasound which showed placental fragments. Since Rosario’s husband had a fever, a friend, Julie, stayed with her overnight at the hospital.
Julie described the chaos at the emergency room that night as a scene straight out of Dante’s Inferno: nightmarish, frightening, and harrowing, with bloody patients moaning and screaming in pain while others waited desperately for medical attention. Two other postpartum patients lay on cots in the ER hallway while their families tried to find the money for a D&C. It was the kind of moral dilemma that drove doctors to despair. But Julie was also left with the unforgettable image of a no-nonsense doctor – Dr. Erlinda Posadas – whose compassion for a patient far exceeded ordinary expectations.
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Trying to make sense of the Philippines’ health care system where “those with the greatest need have the least access” is an exercise in futility. Barely propped up by Philhealth, the government health insurance system only covers 15 percent of hospitalization, medications and selected outpatient procedures, but NOT regular preventive medical check-ups – and the patient still gets slapped with a huge bill on discharge from the hospital.
Rosario’s designation as a charity case meant no doctors’ fees, but other services had to be paid for. Julie helped her obtain reimbursement for the loaned medications from the municipal government, but bureaucratic red tape at the local DSWD (Department of Social and Welfare Services) forced her to return three times before finally getting financial aid.
With the support of VPHCS, Rosario did not have to pay anything, but the whole episode was sobering. It pointed to the need for a rational health care system accessible to those without the means to pay, throwing into sharp relief the necessity for systematic reproductive health education and outreach not just to women of childbearing age and adolescents, but to entire barangays and local government units (LGUs). At the very least, it showed the need for easier access to financial assistance in LGUs -- services paid for by tax monies.
If not for timely intervention from VPHCS, Rosario would now be another statistic in the unrelenting maternal mortality data of this country, where eleven women die from maternal causes every single day, a tragic loss which not only has a profound personal and societal impact but also has economic consequences for years to come. Rosario’s stillborn infant did become a statistic: Philippine infant mortality rate remains at 34/1000 (Thailand’s is 18.23/1000).
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What is Visayas Primary Health Care Services and what does it do? As a community-based health program (CBHP), VPHCS, which has been in existence for 30 years, provides free or low-cost health care services to indigents in urban and remote rural areas in Cebu and Bohol. It is a limited safety net for those who fall through the cracks of government health care, but its proven ability to network with other health care practitioners – the specialists in tertiary care, for example – tremendously facilitates provision of services. One of its strong points is its ability to navigate the bureaucratic hospital maze and coordinate essential services. Another is its holistic orientation which includes the promotion of integrative medicine and appropriate technology, specifically acupuncture, homeopathy, reflexology and herbal meds.
In July 2006, VPHCS initiated a reproductive health program called YO! Lead or Youth on the Lead. Funded by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, YO! works with youth organizations in schools and local communities, developing leadership and life skills and providing information and access to reproductive health care services in office clinics and mobile medical missions.
CBHPS embody the principles of primary health care declared at the 1978 Alma Ata International Conference on Primary Health Care: fair, equitable and efficient health care services; community participation in decision-making; and an emphasis on education and preventive health. These principles are evident in the medical missions requested by various barangays and the annual training and skills update of community health workers.
CBHPs work without fanfare and with modest remuneration, their vision carried out by dedicated and selfless staff and volunteers in numerous communities throughout the Philippines - and in the United States. Seminal and groundbreaking, CBHPs deserve a place in the country’s Bantayog ng mga Bayani (Monument to Heroes) for their proven record of public service which has saved – and continues to save – the lives of countless Filipinos.
Aurora Fernandez, R.N. is a retired public health nurse based in California who believes that health care is a human right that should be accessible to everyone regardless of ability to pay. For her, a healthy, productive population strengthens and contributes to nation-building.
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