WUNRN
PHILIPPINES - TYPHOON BOPHA
DESTRUCTION, LOSS, PAIN - WOMEN
Many Filipina women lost relatives in the typhoon devastation.
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http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97277/Philippines-typhoon-affecting-maternal-health
PHILIPPINES
- TYPHOON CREATES CHALLENGES FORMATERNAL HEALTH CARE
A woman
and her child at a shelter in
“Many village health centres were totally destroyed. Even in those centres that
were only partially damaged, medical supplies were washed or blown away by the
winds,” Ugochi Daniels, country representative from the UN Population Fund
(UNFPA), told IRIN.
“This is not just an interruption of the health care service, but a destruction
of the healthcare system resulting in a lack of access for women to antenatal
care.”
Government estimates put damage to the region’s healthcare facilities and
infrastructure at more than US$12.5 million.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), 146 of the affected region’s 369
village health centres sustained varying degrees of structural damage, and all
four government hospitals were damaged.
More
than 6.2 million were affected by the catastrophic typhoon – Photo: Karl Anthony Ebol/Philippine Red Cross
“The
implementation of public health programmes is really in the village health
centres and midwives are the frontline healthcare providers. With the damage to
these centres, the [pregnant] women don’t know where to go, or have to go very
far. The midwives have no place to administer [to] patients,” said Joy Sanico
Davao, a senior official at
Typhoon Bopha (local name Pablo) hit the southern
UNFPA estimates there are 8,356 pregnant women in typhoon-affected areas in
need of antenatal care, many of whom are not getting it. Of these, an estimated
2,785 are in their last trimester.
“In particular, there is an urgent need for provision of pre-natal, post-natal
check-up and supply of dignity kits for pregnant and lactating women, with special
consideration for teenage mothers in affected communities,” the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) [ ] reported on 8 January.
Antenatal checkups are crucial in the early detection of pregnancy
complications, say experts. Studies show that adequate antenatal care can
reduce the incidence of maternal death and miscarriage among mothers, as well
as birth defects and low birth weight among newborns. DOH recommends a minimum
of four antenatal visits during each pregnancy.
Medical missions
Local government officials and aid agencies are going around different villages
on medical missions to track and record pregnant and lactating mothers. Kits
which assist emergency delivery are being distributed to midwives.
In Mindanao’s
“We’ve had women walk from as far away as 10km to get to our medical missions.
Some even literally cross rivers,” said Geofford Montejo, a provincial maternal
health and childcare coordinator.
“The pregnant ladies also need more psychosocial support. They’re worried about
the lack of livelihood opportunities after the storm. They have little or no
money and have a baby on the way,” said Esther Yiu, a midwife in the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) rapid deployment unit.
ICRC set up a basic health care unit in Davao Oriental to augment urgently
needed medical services.