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WHO: PHL improved in prevention of neonatal, under-5 deaths, but RH still a challenge


The Philippines showed vast improvement in the prevention of neonatal and under-5 mortality but still has major problems in reproductive health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Based on WHO's 2018 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Country Profile released on Friday, the Philippines has high coverage for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services in accordance with the United Nation's SDGs in terms of preventing neonatal and under-five deaths.

The Philippines also has high coverage for "some communicable disease prevention and control interventions, compared to other countries in the [Western Pacific] Region."

However, the Philippines lags slightly behind in coverage of some essential services, slightly below the average of the Western Pacific Region (WPR).

In terms of UHC, the country faces major challenges "in infectious disease prevention and control and in service capacity and access, specifically family planning, male tobacco use, and HIV antiretroviral treatment."

All data in the profile is based on 2016 figures.

Safer childbirths, poor family planning, vaccine coverage

The Philippines' neonatal mortality rates dropped to 12.6 per 1,000 live births, placing it 96 percent toward the SDG target, while its under-5 mortality rate dropped to 27.1 per 1,000 live births or 95 percent of the SDG goal, according to WHO.

The rate dipped however in terms of immunization against Hepatitis B (86 percent of all infants or 69 percent of SDG target), and diptheria, tetanus, and pertusis among one-year-olds (86 percent of infants or 63 percent of SDG target).

Reproductive health remains the biggest health concern of the country — at only 24 percent of the best-performing country in the Western Pacific Region (WPR), with only 51.5 percent of married or in-union women of reproductive age satisfied with available methods of family planning at the time.

Because the data came from 2013, the figure may change in the future due to the full implementation of the RH Law in 2017, WHO noted.

Maternal mortality (70 percent of the best performing WPR country), hospital births (55 percent) and adolescent birth (47 percent) also remains low.

Challenges remain

WHO Country Representative Dr. Gundo Weiler said both houses of Congress and the Department of Health are working to improve the health outcomes of newborns and mothers through new legislation.

Yet challenges in child health remain, including the high rate of stunting or a lack of physical growth due to undernutrition, he said.

"One of the biggest problems in terms of health in the country is the high rate of stunting," Weiler said. "More than 30 percent [are affected], which is a high rate, and it shows clearly that there is still more to do."

A solution to this is a better implementation of the conditional cash transfer program, which Weiler said can help families improve their standard of living and the health of their household members.

Furthermore, Dr. Vivian Lin, Health Systems Director for WHO-WPR, said the Philippines needs to find a solution unique to its situation to improve healthcare coverage in all corners of the country while lowering out-of-pocket expenses.

"The level of economic development is not predictive and that's why the solutions need to be different and we need to see what [works] in each country," Lin said.

An important step to take for the Philippines to raise their coverage and lower expenses for Filipino families is the complete passage and implementation of the UHC bill.

"It's now in Senate, in the health committee, working on its version and then it will go to the bicameral system. So that is an important legislation because it's really about the foundation of the healthcare system, but there are many other bills that are in the pipeline," Weiler said.

He also noted that the Mental Health Bill is in the line for signing.

UHC in each country is measured by a country's health service coverage and financial protection. —KBK, GMA News

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