DOH rolls out health caravan pressing LGUs to prioritize health issues

The Department of Health (DOH) launched on Wednesday an ambitious two-year program that will make it easier for the underserved communities of the country’s 17 regions to access offered health services.

Health Undersecretary Janette L. Garin said the program, “DOH on Wheels: Kalusugan Pangkalahatan Roadshow,” aims to prod officials of local government units (LGUs) to use their political will to prioritize the health and delivery of health services to their constituencies, notably among mothers and children, men, youth and adolescents, and the elderly.

In a press conference, Garin, who is also head of the DOH cluster on women, children, and family health, said, “In public health, it is better to prevent the onset of diseases rather than treat patients.”

'DOH on Wheels'

“Financial investments on health is a sound, long-term investment that will benefit many times the local communities,” said Garin, sounding the call on LGU officials to prioritize health investments.

“Different LGUs have different priorities. The 'DOH on Wheels' will strongly show to different LGUs that the DOH will be there to push for public health policies, especially reproductive health, lowering maternal death rates, proper nutrition for children, and to support elderly rights,” said Garin.

Quezon City was chosen as the launching site of the program because among LGUs, the city has the highest number of population and the second largest land area.

Garin cited Quezon City as the first LGU to pass ordinances on reproductive health that deal with escalating teenage pregnancies, and for its strong commitment to deliver basic health services to its population.

The DOH caravan will be composed of 10 buses that will transport health personnel, medicines, and educational materials. With the cooperation of the DOH regional, provincial, and local health units, the caravan will involve 11,000 nurses and 5,000 nurses.

From Quezon City, the caravan will go to Manila and other cities in the National Capital Region. In June, it will visit the Dinagat Islands and Surigao; in July, Tacloban, Ormoc, and Cebu; and in August, Iloilo, Antique, and Caticlan.

“Public health awareness should start at a very young age. Educating the adolescents, the college students in particular, can make a difference. The knowledge that they will gain can be used in influencing their peers,” Garin said.

Maternal health

The DOH has said that one woman and nine newborns die from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications every two hours in the Philippines.

The country’s maternal mortality rate is still far from the Millennium Development Goals target of 52 for every 100,000 live births. Meanwhile, increasing trends in teenage pregnancy is endangering the health and lives of adolescents, the DOH said.

Poor families want only two to four children but end up having five to six, it added.

“All these health concerns influence the economic stability and capability of the Filipino family and the community as a whole,” Garin said.

The ”DOH on Wheels” will emphasize the DOH’s wide range of health services available to all members of the family, she added.

The services focus on health education and services for family planning and responsible parenthood. They include the following:

• PhilHealth enrollment
• Lecture on the importance of oral health during pregnancy
• Administration of micronutrients such as iron and folic acid to pregnant women
• Men’s health and family involvement
• Cigarette and alcohol cessation
• Father’s involvement in responsible parenthood
• Reproductive health education for adolescents
• And pneumococcal vaccination for the elderly and education about their rights’ under the Expanded Senior Citizens’ Act and PhilHealth.