Duterte health programs gear up Albay
LEGAZPI CITY—Albay's chief executives and health officials gathered here to undergo an Orientation Seminar on the Duterte Health Agenda by the Provincial Department of Health Office of Albay, Tuesday, September 13.
The Duterte Health Agenda, which aims to implement the three-point goals of President Rodrigo Duterte to achieve better health outcomes and attain the goal of Universal Health Care (UHC), was launched early September and initially set to provide mandatory basic check-up to 20 million poorest Filipinos within the administration’s first 100 days.
The first goal is for all Filipinos attaining their best health outcomes, living longer in a healthy age with few illnesses and preventing premature deaths from the scourges of stressful daily living and emerging public health threats like drug addiction.
The second goal, meanwhile, centers on ensuring that all Filipinos, particularly the poorest of the poor, will gain freedom from high costs of medical care, prevent financial ruin and to be liberated from profit-oriented health services.
The third and final goal is for all Filipinos to have satisfactory experience when they access health services, where they feel respected and valued, and finally become in charge of their own health care.
Dubbed as “All for Health Towards Health for All Program,” the orientation seminar informed local chief executives and health leaders on the activities and plans that the Department of Health (DOH) will be implementing and the alignment of local health programs to this initiative.
Albay Board Member and Health Committee chair Howard Pem Imperial attended the said event and mentioned that the provincial government supports DOH and other LGUs in their drive to achieve their health goals.
“We, the PGA will show solidarity and provide full support to all your endeavors, the idiom Health is Wealth is just casually thrown around these days but no one really gives it much attention, I call on all of you to share your skills and knowledge in the field of health and challenge you to use them in the service of others,” Imperial said.
Noting that Albayanos are active and productive members of the community, Imperial said that investing in their health care will not only provide better quality of lives, but also help the overall growth of the province.
DOH Albay, meanwhile, said that although there are positive growths in the health ladnscape of the province, it is still below the national average and is moving at a slow pace.
In response, they aligned the health programs of all LGUs to the DOH Health agenda to allow the province to reach its health goals at a faster rate.
