ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Dec 8 (PIA) – The Bureau of Public Information announced that at least 150 more midwives will be deployed in remote areas of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to help provide basic health services to people living in places where government services were hardly felt.
ARMM healthy secretary, Dr. Kadil Sinolinding said the deployment of the additional midwives would start in December.
With the fresh deployments, Sinolinding said the current ratio of one midwife for every 6,088 people will be further improved.
“There are more than 500 midwives in the region and the additional 150 new midwives were expected to improve the delivery of health services in the ARMM, the country’s poorest,” Sinolinding said.
He said the deployment of the new midwives was being made with the help of the national government’s Department of Health.
“Secretary Enrique Ona readily granted our request in accordance with the DOH program Pangkalahatang Pangkalusugan,” Sinolinding said.
As this developed, Sinolinding announced that the government has allocated P1.3 billion for health programs in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.
He said the fund will be taken out of the P8 billion ARMM Mini-Marshall plan, adding, “In DOH-ARMM, when it rains, it pours.”
He said the Mini-Marshall plan also included P380 million for the health facility enhancement program of DOH, which includes increasing the number of rural health units, clinics and hospitals.
It can be recalled that a national transition team was created by the government headed by the Department of Interior and Local Government in preparation for the appointment and installation of officers-in-charge in ARMM. The transition team is composed of DepEd, the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development which are the key government agencies identified with providing basic services.
The ARMM economic recovery and development initiative is also called “ARMM Mini Marshall Plan,” and is aimed at addressing gaps in basic services for the next 21 months of transition. (BPI-ARMM/RVC-PIA9 ZBST)
