The archipelagic nature of the Philippines comes with its own challenges and one of the most impactful is the difficulty in healthcare access. This is starkly illustrated in Eastern Visayas which has several provinces seeing a high infant mortality rate. According to data shared by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the number of infant deaths in these provinces grew from 14.3% in 2021 to 23.5% in 2022.
Among the contributing factors to the problem is the country’s inadequate health care services due to limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of coordination among health facilities.
To help address this problem, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), together with World Vision, has organized the Policy Forum focusing on Health Referral System as part of their KOICA Maternal Newborn and Child Health Project (KOICA MNCH) in the Eastern Visayas Region, which covers 16 municipalities in the provinces of Leyte, Eastern Samar, Samar, and Northern Samar.
“We believe everyone has the right to proper healthcare services. Through this project, we hope that access to proper healthcare services will finally reach many remote and underserved areas in the region,” said KOICA project director Jihwan Jeon.
KOICA MNHC project director Romil Jeffrey Juson shared that since its inception in 2021, it has trained 3,848 barangay health workers on timed and targeted care for families in their conduct of home visits. The project has spent P20 million on equipment and incentives to support Barangay Health Workers (BHWs).
The project has also constructed and renovated 22 health facilities, provided equipment such as incubators, ultrasound machines, and hematology analyzers to 54 health facilities, and provided 12 ambulances to local government units.
KOICA and World Vision also hosted the KOICA MNCH Project Policy Forum last August 27 which brought together regional and national government agencies, local government units, INGOs/CSOs, and relevant stakeholders to discuss the pressing issues concerning the health referral system in the region.
During the event, speakers discussed the current landscape of the health referral system in the region. Dialogues were also held to come up with solutions to the issues and challenges surrounding the health referral system as well as strategies for its effective implementation, and monitoring and evaluation at the community and apex hospital levels.
Local government officials shared their success stories while also highlighting the need for a continuous local healthcare program that would be unaffected by electoral changes.
Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines’ College of Public Health discussed its research paper on the current landscape of the region’s current maternal and child health referral system. Some of the recommendations include the strengthening of primary care facilities and hospitals’ capacity for referral care, the digitization of referrals for improved coordination and communication, and better implementation and monitoring of existing and future referral protocols.
Jun N. Godornes, World Vision Philippines’ interim national director shared, “Quality access to maternal healthcare is very critical to ensure the health of both mother and infant/child.
This Policy Forum hopes to safeguard their lives and put an end to preventable maternal and newborn deaths.”
