Program Highlights Archive: Health

USAID Helps Meet Demand for Long-Acting and Permanent Family Planning Services in Sulu

The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) of Sulu has noted the increased demand for long-acting and permanent family planning methods (LAPM) among women in Sulu in Southern Mindanao. To meet the demand, USAID trained four teams of doctors, nurses and midwives to expand the LAPM services in Sulu, including bilateral tubal ligation (BTL). After completing two levels of counseling plus their informed consent and voluntarism, 111 Sulu women underwent BTL, while others received other family planning methods of their choice. With USAID’s support, more than 100 thousand couples in Sulu who are in their reproductive ages are now receiving quality family planning services.

Tuberculosis (TB) Program in Jails Intensified in Metro Manila

With USAID assistance, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Metro Manila intensified its anti-TB campaign in jails under its jurisdiction. It deployed its trained health workers to 23 jails in Metro Manila to address the needs of TB-infected prisoners. The trained health workers closely monitor the progress of patients receiving anti-TB treatment until they are cured. This will potentially benefit over 18,000 inmates in prisons while also protecting the visiting family members from possible infection. Tuberculosis is the second leading cause of death among inmates in Philippine jails, next to cardio-respiratory arrest.

USAID Optimizes Two-way Radio Network for Health Advocacy

In Balindong, Lanao del Sur, the two-way radio system is the primary means of communication among its 5,200 households. To help the Balindong District Health Office optimize the use of their communication system, USAID trained 17 officers of the Bantay Ranao Assistance Islamic Network (BRAIN), an association of 600 two-way radio owners, in conducting health sessions. USAID helped BRAIN to create “Tompokan sa Kawang” (partnership on the air) and linked the radio-owning households with the Balindong Municipal Hospital and the local government, both of which have two-way radio bases. Five nights a week, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., the trained BRAIN members use their two-way radios to conduct interactive discussions on health topics, such as family planning, breastfeeding, Vitamin A supplementation, immunization, and sanitation, and to announce health service delivery schedules. With this unique communication tool, more mothers responded to the recent door-to-door measles-rubella immunization campaign, benefiting nearly 2,500 children.

USAID Donates Vaccine Refrigerators to the Department of Health

USAID turned over 175 vaccine refrigerators to the Philippines Department of Health (DOH). These will replace those in public health facilities that are old and unserviceable or were damaged by tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng that ravaged the country in late 2009. The donation includes 23 units to replace those in selected health facilities in Muslim Mindanao where immunization coverage is low, partially due to lack of functioning vaccine refrigerators. The USAID donation will support the Philippines’ routine immunization program and was part of a commitment made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (when she visited the Philippines after the 2009 floods) for the U.S. Government to provide disaster recovery assistance to the country.

New National Family Planning Communication Campaign Reaches Millions

The new Family Planning (FP) communication campaign of the Department of Health (DOH) has reached 3.5 million readers and listeners in U.S. Government-assisted sites alone. Designed with technical assistance from USAID, the campaign entitled “May Plano Ako. Kaya Mo Ring Magplano” (I Have a Plan. You Can Have One Too), is anchored on the principle of informed choice and voluntarism, and positions FP as integral to achieving quality of life. The campaign includes the conduct of community health classes for couples, health facility-based FP counseling and services, consultative meetings with local leaders and stakeholders, outdoor advertising, radio public service announcements, and media coverage with stories of FP users. Health provider job aids, flip charts, and posters with updated information and images were also developed and distributed. An independent household survey conducted recently in three provinces – Albay, Capiz, and Compostela Valley – where campaign activities took place showed that 41 percent were motivated to take action, including starting to use a method of family planning. Site statistics demonstrated increases in the number of new FP acceptors across all three provinces compared to the quarter prior to the campaign launch.