Filipino kids pay the price of doctors’, nurses’ exodus

By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 09:36pm (Mla time) 12/02/2006

THE exodus of nurses and doctors looking for better-paying jobs abroad may be endangering the health of Filipino children.

According to Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan of the Health Futures Foundation, since 2004, 75 of 79 provinces have been losing their nurses, 77 provinces their midwives, and 61 provinces have reported a shortage of doctors.

The large migration of health workers from rural to urban areas and abroad has manifested itself in the decline in basic health services for children, the former health secretary said.

“This is unfortunate as children need expert care in the first few weeks and months of existence to ensure their proper growth,” he said.

Tan presented a paper on the country's efforts to reduce infant and child mortality rates before a gathering of health experts and professionals the other day.

The presentation was part of a three-day review of the country's progress in achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the United Nations that include reducing child mortality, improving maternal health care, and combating infectious diseases.

UN member-countries have pledged to eradicate poverty by 2015 through the eight MDGs that they drafted in 2000.

In his paper, Tan said a reduction in the Philippines’ child mortality rate was one of the MDGs that "remain in peril."

He noted that despite advancements in technology, there have been "no substantive improvements" in the country’s infant and child death rates in the past few years.

"There has been a slight decrease. But compared to neighboring countries like Malaysia and Thailand, the decrease is very slow," Tan said.

He said the desire to search for greener pastures abroad as well as the low government budget for health services could be some of the factors contributing to the exodus of Filipino health workers.

He recommended that, apart from persuading health workers to stay in the country, the government should also restore funding for health services to five percent of the national budget, a proposal endorsed by other speakers at the event organized by the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD).

Tan noted that in 2002, total health expenditures constituted only 2.7 percent of gross national product.

He said maternal health care also has to be improved to ensure that babies are born healthy.

Some 67 percent of mothers unable to access health care attributed it to their not having enough money for treatment.

Tan said the country had enough policies relating to child health but that implementation has been weak in part because of insufficient funding.

The National Economic and Development Authority, the government agency spearheading the implementation of the MDGs here, earlier reported a slow decrease in the child mortality rate.

The Neda reported that 88 percent of all deliveries were attended by health professionals, indicating a slight improvement in maternal health care.

But it also said that cost of medicines in the Philippines remained among the highest in Southeast Asia.