The explicit intertwining of the issues on infrastructure and health is what makes the town of Paracelis, said to be Mt. Province’s last frontier, among the four project areas of the 6th UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Country Programme. It has been said that the hierarchy of needs should always be the starting point of all programs seeking to adress the needs at a higher level. This is the case in Paracelis and even in most of the towns in Mt. Province, north of the Philippines, where reproductive health seems to be an abstract in the minds of its people.
Nestled in the interior triboundaries of Ifugao, Isabela and Kalinga is the remote town of Paracelis, Mountain Province. There are two difficult, almost impassable routes to get there – either through the steep and narrow mountainsides of Mount Polis, where boulders and rough mountain rocks combine to make the surface of a road; or by passing through Isabela and the dirt roads of Alfonso Lista, Ifugao. Both paths are characterized by rough, bumpy roads pockmarked with potholes. During the rainy season, the road turns sticky with mud and the two rivers become swollen, making travel next to impossible.
UNFPA’s initial project in the municipality targets four barangays that are equally challenging to reach. Barangays (village) Bantay and Bunot are easier to reach because vehicles can pass through and the routes are relatively passable. Reaching the other two barangays of Anonat and Buringal, however, will require tougher guts.
Anonat can only be reached after an hour-and-a-half motorboat ride in the Siffu River. From there, one has to hike for one-and half hour to reach the town proper. To reach Buringal, the farthest town, one has to pass through several towns in Isabela before reaching the mighty Mallig River in Dommon for an hour-and-a half motorboat ride. The rest of the journey is traveled by long hours of hiking.
During the community appraisal phase of the UNFPA project, the very condition of these roads was identified as central to the people’s quest for better and healthy lives.With the lack of key infrastructures in the area, any development intervention in the towns invariably fails.
Read full article here...
The original article of this appeared in Health Alert Asia Pacific Issue No. 10, 2007 (Supplementary issue). For copies of the newsletter, please email hain1985@gmail.com
Monday, July 30, 2007
Creating Roads to Sexual & Reproductive Health
The explicit intertwining of the issues on infrastructure and health is what makes the town of Paracelis, said to be Mt. Province’s last frontier, among the four project areas of the 6th UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Country Programme. It has been said that the hierarchy of needs should always be the starting point of all programs seeking to adress the needs at a higher level. This is the case in Paracelis and even in most of the towns in Mt. Province, north of the Philippines, where reproductive health seems to be an abstract in the minds of its people.
Indigenous Peoples: Living on the Edge
In 2004, no less than the United Nations Economic and Social Committee noted that “indigenous peoples in many countries continue to be among the poorest and most marginalized.” The comment was made in light of the conclusion of the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which commenced in 1994. Admitting that the the first Decade was a failure, a second International Decade was started in 2005.
Judging from the health situation of indigenous peoples, it seems that the second Decade is bound to be another failure unless concrete measures are taken to improve the lives of indigenous peoples.
This July, HAIN releases the latest issue of Health Alert (Issue No. 10) which delves into the health issues faced by indigenous peoples. The editorial provides a brief profile of indigenous peoples, as well as the importance of land to their well-being. It maintains that unless the indigenous peoples’ right to land and self-determination is respected, no amount of intervention can make a difference.
Two articles, “Health care for the Orang Asli: consequences of paternalism and non-recognition” and “Indigenous people’s survival: our environment, our lives,” give a brief explanation of the indigenous peoples’ concept of health and well-being. Also, the first article examines how paternalism and lack of sensitivity in handling indigenous peoples’ concerns further worsen the people’s health situation. The second article, meanwhile, shows the effect of environmental degradation in the lives of indigenous peoples.
This also features articles on the health situation of Taiwanese and Australian Aborigines. “Saving Taiwan’s Aborigines” shows that Taiwanese Aborigines have shorter lifespan than non-Aborigines. It also highlights the growing concern for the alarming rise of diabetes cases among Aboriginals. “Australian Aborigines: a proud past; a checkered future” takes a look at the higher rate of mental and emotional distress among Australian Aborigines. It is emphasized that the skewed rate does not point to genetic aberrations; rather, it is the direct result of the social disintegration and neglect suffered by Australian Aborigines.
“The Mangyans of Mindoro: Tough life, ailing conditions” illustrates how apathy, government neglect, and militarization adversely affect the health and lives of indigenous peoples.
The last article, “The quest for the green gold,” focuses on biopiracy and how the act further marginalizes indigenous peoples.
The special issue, “Creating Roads to SRH,” provides a fresh angle in the discussion of delivery of health services in far-flung areas; detailing how the lack of roads and other vital infrastructures adversely affect a community.
To request copies of the Health Alert Asia Pacific, please email hain@hain.org or hain1985@gmail.com. We will also post in this blog some of the articles included in this issue.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Children’s Medicines
By Michael Tan
Philippinde Daily Inquirer, Pinoy Kasi column
July 25, 2007
View full article here...
The first bill filed in the new Congress was the proposed Cheap Medicines Act. More accurately, the bill was re-filed since it had been proposed in the last Congress but didn’t make it as a law. The bill went through rough sailing, facing tough opposition from multinational drug companies.
Among those lobbying heavily for passage of the bill are advocacy organizations working with the elderly. They’ve rightly pointed out that the country’s expensive medicines have been a terrible burden especially for the elderly, and the families that have to foot their medical bills. Because the elderly are more vulnerable to chronic ailments, they have much greater dependency on medicines, many of which have to be taken on a daily basis. Even with the 20-percent discount offered to senior citizens, the monthly bills for medicines easily run into the thousands, wiping out their savings. The elderly are literally held hostage by the drug industry with a grim message: Pay up, or suffer.
How costly is costly?
But sometimes we forget that there’s another large segment of the population that’s also held for ransom: the children. About 100,000 Filipino children die each year, many from diseases that are preventable and curable.
Let’s tackle the preventable deaths first. Vaccines play a key role in preventing many of these deaths. Fortunately, the government does provide free BCG (for tuberculosis), DPT (diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough and tetanus), OPV (oral polio vaccine) and hepatitis B vaccines. Additional vaccines for flu, chickenpox, MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) have to be paid for with private physicians, and these can run into several thousand pesos. As far as I know, they’re not reimbursable with PhilHealth or with private health maintenance organizations.
There are many other diseases that are not preventable through vaccines. The leading cause of illness and death among children are acute respiratory infections. Children are also especially at risk for gastrointestinal infections that can cause life-threatening diarrheas.
Philippinde Daily Inquirer, Pinoy Kasi column
July 25, 2007
View full article here...
The first bill filed in the new Congress was the proposed Cheap Medicines Act. More accurately, the bill was re-filed since it had been proposed in the last Congress but didn’t make it as a law. The bill went through rough sailing, facing tough opposition from multinational drug companies.
Among those lobbying heavily for passage of the bill are advocacy organizations working with the elderly. They’ve rightly pointed out that the country’s expensive medicines have been a terrible burden especially for the elderly, and the families that have to foot their medical bills. Because the elderly are more vulnerable to chronic ailments, they have much greater dependency on medicines, many of which have to be taken on a daily basis. Even with the 20-percent discount offered to senior citizens, the monthly bills for medicines easily run into the thousands, wiping out their savings. The elderly are literally held hostage by the drug industry with a grim message: Pay up, or suffer.
How costly is costly?
But sometimes we forget that there’s another large segment of the population that’s also held for ransom: the children. About 100,000 Filipino children die each year, many from diseases that are preventable and curable.
Let’s tackle the preventable deaths first. Vaccines play a key role in preventing many of these deaths. Fortunately, the government does provide free BCG (for tuberculosis), DPT (diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough and tetanus), OPV (oral polio vaccine) and hepatitis B vaccines. Additional vaccines for flu, chickenpox, MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) have to be paid for with private physicians, and these can run into several thousand pesos. As far as I know, they’re not reimbursable with PhilHealth or with private health maintenance organizations.
There are many other diseases that are not preventable through vaccines. The leading cause of illness and death among children are acute respiratory infections. Children are also especially at risk for gastrointestinal infections that can cause life-threatening diarrheas.