In partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and education institutions in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, USAID is strengthening pre‐service training of frontline health workers by incorporating the Essential Intrapartum Newborn Care (EINC) in the nursing and midwifery curricula. The EINC are set of practices recommended by DOH and the World Health Organization to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rate. With support from the Commission on Higher Education in Region 10, six midwifery and 13 nursing schools will revise their school curricula this year to incorporate EINC. Ten health facilities have also agreed to host practicum for nursing and midwifery students who are having EINC under the revised curricula. The initiative will benefit over 200 midwifery and around 4,000 nursing students who will be equipped with more life‐saving skills when they graduate and serve their communities.

USAID worked closely with the U.S. and Philippines security forces in the conduct of joint medical outreach in Puerto Princesa, Palawan recently. The civil-military action benefitted over 8,000 people from far-flung and low-income communities The health services included free medical, dental, ophthalmic, maternal, pediatric and child care services. Mothers availed themselves of antenatal consultations and reproductive health counseling, while children received essential immunization and micronutrient packs to prevent malnutrition. Around 240 village health workers and volunteers, including public school teachers, participated in training sessions on health topics like maternal and child health care, breastfeeding, and family planning. They, in turn, will be conducting health classes that can reach about 30,000 people from five far-flung and low-income villages in the city.

The 2008 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey revealed that around half of the number of births in Cavite province took place in homes due to limited birthing facilities. Within Cavite, unmet need for family planning among women of reproductive age (15-49) has risen from 16 percent in 2003 to 24 percent in 2008. To address this, USAID conducted a pilot training for municipal health officers, midwives, and village health workers in conducting surveys that will assist in the identification and strategic implementation of family planning and maternal and child health needs and services. Partnerships with 14 accredited birthing facilities of private practice midwives and 67 workplace clinics will be strengthened to augment the limited public birthing facilities and increase public access to contraceptive supplies. These partners will benefit from increased clients in FP-MCH services and products.