Phl health agenda: quality health care for all Filipinos

BAGUIO CITY --Access to quality health care for every Filipino down to the remotest areas is among the primary goals of the Philippine Health Agenda under President Rodrigo Duterte.

Health undersecretaries  Herminigildo Valle and  Gerardo Bayugo bared this assured  during the final national dissemination of the five year program, of JICA and Department of Health – Cordillera dubbed  “Cordillera-wide Strengthening of the Local Health System for Effective Delivery of Maternal and Child Health Services” here recently at Crown Legacy Hotel.

Valle, in his message, said the DOH   is steadfast in its commitment to enhance capability of local health services unit to deliver maternal, child and nutrition to the poorest of the poor down to the remotest parts of the country.

The DOH, he said, will continue to push for a continuing meaningful partnership such as this project with JICA in the Cordillera that primarily focuses on maternal and child health service delivery for the achievement of the health department’s slogan of “All For Health, Towards Health For All”.

Part of the Philippine health agenda, Valle outlined is to ensure that there will be competency - based health workers in every barangay in the country- at least a registered nurse and a licensed physician and dentist in every community health center.

Bayugo, said under DOH 12 Legacy Targets for the Phl Health Agenda, there will be a great impact on scaling – up maternal and child health services in the country.

He reiterated DOH’s call for continuing and meaningful partnership in ensuring happier, healthier and safer Philippines.

 The JICA – DOH project in CAR started in 2012. It is focused mainly on capacity building activities, both in terms of equipment and manpower, to ensure that government hospitals, community health centers and barangay health stations can provide efficient and effective Basic Maternal, Obstetrics and Neo-natal Care Services. 

The project has yielded positive results with increase in the health facility based delivery from 78 percent in 2012 to 92% in 2015 and greatly lowered the maternal mortality rate from 71% per 100,000 live birth in 2012 to 45 % in 2015, which is below the UN Millennium Development Goals target of 52%.

Valle and Bayugo led regional DOH officials and provincial and municipal health workers and other stakeholders in saying gains from the project will continue and help attain government’s goal that no woman will die giving birth.