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Friday, October 22, 2004
Health care's ills: Brain drain, deficient law, thin budgets
By Jovy S. Taghoy
CEBU CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH) Central Visayas is facing tough challenges to improve the quality of health services in the next five years.
During the first of a series of consultations for the Central Visayas Regional Development Plan for 2005-2010 at the Capitol social hall, the DOH identified five challenges that need to be given priority:
* poor investment in child health, direct nutrition interventions and maternal care;
* increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, particularly in urban centers;
* lack of a comprehensive law that addresses reproductive health needs and services for men, women and adolescents;
* sluggish enrolment of the self-employed sector in the health insurance program; and
* continuing migration of skilled nurses and physicians to other countries.
It has been noted that the proportion of fully immunized children ages nine-11 months declined from 85.17 percent (1998) to 78.94 percent (2001) and continued to slip to 69.16 percent in the following year.
In 2003, immunization coverage increased to 78.47 percent. The increase, however, is lower by about 16 percent from the national target of 95 percent.
The campaign to give full tetanus immunization to pregnant women showed a moderate rise from 57.59 percent in 2001 to 60.17 percent in 2003.
In contrast, the maternal mortality rate increased from 158 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1998 to 186 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000.
From 2000 to 2003, only about 55 percent of pregnant women in the region received prenatal care from health professionals during their pregnancy with their youngest child.
Despite efforts to control and eliminate nutritional problems, micronutrient deficiencies continue to affect a considerable proportion of the nutritionally-at-risk population.
The government also needs to address the departure of a growing number of doctors and nurses who opted to work abroad.
Trained nurses are leaving the country for higher wages, more professional development and employment opportunities and better working environment.
A number of medical doctors have been pursuing a fast-track degree in nursing so they too can leave the country.
(October 22, 2004 issue)
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