TACLOBAN CITY- Addressing the healthcare needs of underserved and rural communities in the Philippines, the Department of Health Eastern Visayas Center for Health and Development (DOH EVCHD) continues to deploy government medical scholars different rural health units in Eastern Visayas through its Doctors to the Barrios Program.
Maria Lailani Terante, a resident of Canmarating village in Abuyog, Leyte all her life shares that people like her who lives on meager resources in geographically isolated areas, access to healthcare facilities at the town center will seem like a luxury.
"Kun ha bungto kami magpa-doktor, mamasahe kami tag P40 an usa, kun mayda ko upod, doble pa an pamasahe," Terante said in the local language.(If we would see a doctor in town, we would have to ride and pay a fare of P40. If I would be the accompanied, the fare would also be doubled.) Meanwhile, Arsenio Cobilo, a councilor in Balocawehay village also in Abuyog town, says the Doctors to the Barrios program has made lives easier for their villagefolks as the doctors bring the government’s health services directly to the communities.
“With our town stretching up to the mountains and small communities tucked within, our village serves as a catchment for at least ten other villages just so they can have a medical checkup from our Doctor to the Barrios,” Cobilo said.
The DOH EVCHD recently deployed fourteen new Doctors to the Barrios to different local government units where the ideal doctor to patient ratio should be one doctor per 20,000 population.
According to Jelyn Malibago, information officer of DOH-8, the new batch of DTTBs belonging to Batch 42-B of the DOH’s DTTB Program in the region, who are considered as medical scholars of the government, will be assisting in delivering healthcare services, including regular check-ups, vaccinations, health education, and emergency care. They would also provide support to local health workers and help in strengthening health systems in their area of deployment.
Areas of deployment for this new batch include Liloan and Anahawan in Southern Leyte, Palompon, Palo, Calubian, Mahaplag, Burauen, Bato and Babatngon in Leyte; Naval in Biliran; Motiong and Matuguinao in Samar; Arteche in Eastern Samar; and, Silvino Lobos in Northern Samar.
Before they embark on their mission, the 14 new doctors to the barrios signed a Memorandum of Agreement together with their respective local government unit of assignment and took their oath in a simple Oath Taking Ceremony symbolizing their strong commitment as physicians for the people—dedicated to reaching those in greatest need and reinforcing the goals of Universal Health Care.
Over the years, the DTTB program has played a crucial role in improving rural healthcare, providing communities with preventive care, health education, and treatment for a variety of medical conditions.
Dr. Remaelachy Cui, a native of Cebu City, has been assigned as Doctor to the Barrio at the Rural Health Unit of Abuyog for almost two years now.
“We face a lot of challenges being a doctor to our geographically isolated and depressed areas, but this is where our heart is – public health. We give it all we can,” Dr. Cui said.
Through regular medical consultations in a catchment area, Dr. Cui conducts education programs, provide immunizations, and treat a range of illnesses from common colds to more serious conditions and provide referrals for the most serious ones.
The DOH EVCHD in the region assures they are steadily closing the gap in the escalating demand for healthcare services in the region’s underserved areas with the institution of a competitive compensation for medical professionals in the government through the LGU support and increased investments in basic healthcare infrastructure especially in rural health units to ensure that doctors are not left struggling with inadequate resources.
The Doctors to the Barrios Program was created by the DOH in 1993 to address the lack of doctors practicing in rural communities in the Philippines. Since then, several batches of doctors have been deployed to various geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the Philippines to work in primary care and public health.