Just over a year after it was included as one of the sites for the UNFPA 7th Country Programme of Assistance to the Philippines, Surigao del Sur is already showing positive trends in improving maternal health in the province.
Facility-based deliveries are more accessible with 17 out of 19 rural health units (RHU) now equipped with birthing facilities. Seven of the RHUs have also received accreditation for the maternity care package (MCP) of PhilHealth.
The province has also established halfway homes for pregnant women who live in remote villages to ensure that they are at within the vicinity of a birthing facility on their expected due date. This supports the objective of preventing maternal deaths especially for pregnant women at high risk of complications.
In Bislig City, women’s health teams regularly conduct pregnancy tracking and monitoring. A local social health insurance called KANAMI was set up and the in-kind payment scheme for the poor was introduced in district hospitals – all intended to make facility-based deliveries more accessible to women, especially the poor.
In a visit to the province early this year, UNFPA Country Representative Ugochi Daniels recognized the dedication and commitment of health workers and the dynamic role of the health officer of Bislig City and the chief of the Hinatuan District Hospital.
Daniels also underscored the critical political commitment demonstrated by Governor Johnny Pimentel which is the key to the reforms in reproductive health care introduced in the province. Health has been the governor’s top priority since assuming office.
In 2010, the province won the prestigious Galing Pook Award for the Good Health through Good Governance category. The award took note of the province’s efforts to drastically reduce maternal mortality ratio from 269 per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 99 in 2009.
The success was brought about by programs initiated by the provincial government such as the formation of women’s health teams, rehabilitation of government hospitals and birthing centers, revitalization of the Local Area Health Development Zones (LAHDZ), passage of ordinances providing incentives for facility-based delivery, and an increase in health budget allocation from 7 per cent of the internal revenue allotment (IRA) in 2006 to 17 per cent in 2008.
Despite the progress made in maternal health programmes, there are remaining challenges that need to be addressed. Apart from being the second most populous province in the CARAGA region, almost half of Surigao del Sur’s population lives in extreme poverty. Contraceptive prevalence rate remains low at 44.7 per cent. Contraceptive pills (33.37 per cent) and intra-uterine device or IUD (23.34 per cent) are the most popular family planning methods. There is a huge unmet need for family planning, particularly among the poorer population which is pegged at 16 per cent or 9,504 households in the National Household Targeting System (NHTS) for poverty reduction.
The partnership between UNFPA and Surigao del Sur started in 2012 under the 7th Country Programme.
Photo: (From left) Surigao del Sur Governor Johnny Pimentel, Mayor Bonifacio G. Ondona of Cagwait municipality (a Galing Pook awardee), Chief of Marihatag District Hospital Dr. Joseph D. Orquio, UNFPA Country Representative Ugochi Daniels during a visit to the halfway house of the district hospital.
Text and photo by Roy A. Dimayuga, UNFPA Area Programme Officer for Surigao del Sur
