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the philippines
“I got to know CHD from the medical mission they carried out in my village. There I learnt how to make herbal medicine that stopped me from depending on expensive commercial medication. They also helped me see the causes of the problems my village is facing. As I regularly attend protest marches, my
awareness of social problems is ever growing.” HISHAM TUCALAN,
philippine
Some statistics
(Council for health and development, pasig)
12.000
Our partners managed to mobilize over and organize for the right to health.
7.428
Filipinos
26 health committees were set up. Committees received trainings allowing them to launch campaigns on access to health care and counter large scale mining and repression of social movements.
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public debates to testify on their Our partners participated in campaign. They have been invited by TV channels, recognized networks and local governments.
partners Campaigning for
aCCess to health Care
B
etter access to health care is one of the objectives of our work on the right to health in the Philippines. 70% of Filipinos never see a doctor. Public hospitals lack resources, have next to no medication available and doctors’ and nurses’ salaries are so low many of them prefer emigrating to the US and Europe. Hospitals get little government funding and see no other option than raising their patients’ bills. This makes health care an all but unaffordable luxury for the average Filipino. The Aquino administration, that is currently in power, claims “public-private partnerships” are the only alternative to meet the Philippines’s growing population’s health needs. It says these partnerships will reduce public spending and improve health. In 2014 the government decided that 72 public hospitals in the Philippines are eligible for privatization.
Our four partner organizations have joined forces in a bid to stop privatizations. Together they have made a report collecting testimonials and statistics from all regions they work in. The book “Critical Condition: Privatized Health in the Philippines” provides proof that privatization in the Philippines will only create more inequality and make access to healthcare for poor Filipinos even worse. With this proof in hand, they launched a campaign with their local chapters, mobilizing almost 12.000 people. Partners wrote petitions, organized protest marches and cooperated with other Philippine organizations equally opposed to the privatization scenario. Their expertise has been called upon in various public debates and they have been given the chance to promote their campaign on a number of national TV channels. •
PARTNERS: gabriela is an umbrella organization of various women’s organizations providing trainings, mainly in the domains of gender and the right to health. Chd (Council for health and development) is an organization working in Manila’s poor communities and a number of provinces. They organize the population through trainings in basic health. ibon Foundation is an alternative documentation and research centre. advocates for Community health work in the Philippines’ remote areas where malaria is still frequent and provide trainings to local farmers on malaria prevention and diagnosis. budget in 2014: 334.234 euro For our operations in the Philippines we have received financial support in 2014 from DGD, the provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders, 11.11.11 and the town of Zoersel among others.
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