HEROES AND LEADERS
Health advocates grace Pfizer's 50th year
Pfizer celebrated its 50th anniversary in the Philippines by honoring those who champion projects that significantly improve health-care-delivery services in the country, especially for the underserved segments of the population.
On August 31, five heroes for health took a break from work to accept Pfizer's recognition of their efforts and achievements. Out of 160 nominees from all over the country, they stood out for having had the most impact on the health and quality of life of their fellows.
HELPING HANDS
Dr. Romulo Busuego, a surgeon and chief of the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City, was instrumental in bringing free surgical services to over 15,000 people in Regions XI, XII, and Caraga. Realizing the lack of access of those living in rural areas to health care, he initiated in 1989 the Surgical Networking Extension Program, a mobile surgical service that performed various surgical procedures in the countryside.
Mrs. Florencia Dorotan's project is the People's Health Program towards Integral Human Development (PHP), which focuses on empowerment and self-help. Among its activities are food production, building of artesian wells and toilets, nutrition education, and the making of supplementary cereal out of mongo, rice, and corn. Dorotan is also cofounder of Lingap Para sa Kalikasan, a nongovernment organization based in Irosin, Sorsogon.
Since volunteering for the Agape Rural Program (ARP) of the Rural Ministry of the Campus Crusade for Christ in 1986, Dr. Editha Miguel has helped provide medical and dental services to over 50,000 people in Palawan, Leyte, Cagayan, and Nueva Ecija. As ARP's program director, she often leads medical missions to remote areas inhabited by indigenous peoples.
Because of Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines founder Ma. Dominga Padilla's efforts, the prevalence of corneal blindness among Filipinos was much reduced. Dr. Padilla was chiefly responsible for the passage of the bill in Congress that allowed the harvesting of corneas from medicolegal cases in police and hospital morgues. As medical director of the Santa Lucia International Eye Bank of Manila, she has helped make high-quality transplantable eye tissues available to thousands of indigent patients throughout the Philippines for free.
From a promise to himself that no one need go blind because of poverty, Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr. has succeeded in organizing the Kabacan Polymedic Cooperative Hospital's Vision 20/20 Cataract Charities Project. In five years, the project has served thousands of charity patients with various eye ailments in Cotabato, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Basilan, and the Autono-mous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Thus far, Sinolinding and the other doctors involved in the project have examined almost 35,000 patients and performed 5,500 eye surgeries.
Each of the heroes received a medallion and PHP500,000, half of which will go toward helping continue or expand their projects.
The five Heroes for Health were selected from among the finalists by a board of judges composed of ambassador Lilia Bautista, Health secretary Manuel Dayrit, Pfizer president and country manager Rey Gerardo Bacarro, St. Luke's Heart Institute chair emeritus Homobono Calleja, Asian Institute of Management president and former Finance secretary Roberto de Ocampo, World Health Organization representative to the Philippines Dr. Jean-Marc Olivé, and Philippine Daily Inquirer chair Marixi Prieto.
CREATING MORE HEALTH LEADERS
Meanwhile, the Leaders for Health Program (LHP) was launched in August 2002 by Pfizer, the Department of Health (DOH), and Ateneo Graduate School of Business (AGSB). LHP aims to produce competent leaders in the health sector who will reshape the way Filipinos think, feel, and behave about health. It brings together volunteer doctors, local chief executives, municipal health officers, and community leaders into addressing problems such as environmental health, safe water and sanitation, nutrition and food fortification, family planning, safe motherhood, immunization, diarrhea, tuberculosis, acute respiratory infections, cardiovascular diseases, health information, and communication technology.
Doctors are deployed to poor municipalities that have been without a doctor for years, where they provide medical services and information. At the same time, they build on their experiences to earn a master's degree in health-care management from AGSB.
The LHP also provides mayors and community leaders with basic knowledge and skills necessary for building and sustaining a health system for their constituents through leadership and management courses.
The pilot run of the LHP was in four provinces: Camarines Sur, Western Samar, Biliran, and Surigao del Norte. There were 21 doctors deployed in these areas. Beginning September, however, 30 more municipalities shall take part in the LHP, bringing the program's presence to 49 communities. New sites include municipalities in the provinces of Albay, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Biliran, Camarines Sur, Cebu, Lanao del Sur, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Western Samar.
Michelle Ciriacruz
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