THE WOMEN OF ISLA PUTING BATO

 As fire ravaged her house, a health worker still found the time to pick up her lagundi plant and carry it along with her other treasured possessions.

This shows how much the women from Isla Puting Bato (Island of White Rock) value the health skills that they have learned.

Lagundi is a medicinal plant that is used to treat coughs. The women learned this during the series of basic health skills trainings (BHST) taught at Isla Puting Bato beginning 2008. Isla Puting Bato is an urban poor community of around 15,000 people who live on the breakwaters of Pier 2 in Tondo, Manila.

The women were taught how to recognize basic signs and symptoms of common illnesses, first aid, herbal medicine, and leadership skills. Thirty women were trained as community health workers..

The BHSTs were conducted by Third World Health Aid partner Council for Health Development in cooperation with the people's organization Ahon Isla (Rise Isla).

Launched in 2009, Ahon Isla is the result of an education drive that started in 2004 in order to encourage the urban poor to assert for their rights to health and housing. Ahon Isla counts over 1,500 members.

Even before the fire razed their homes last May, the residents of Ahon Isla have already overcome numerous problems. Ahon Isla members have been tagged as communists and soldiers were deployed to Isla Puting Bato in 2006. Rather than buckle under the harassment, Ahon Isla members continued to carry on. They organized protest actions, and filed a case against the soldiers at the Commission on Human Rights.

Burned houses partly patched up

This year's fire was the second in recent history to strike Isla Puting Bato. Another fire razed many homes in the community in 2006. Aside from fire, Isla Puting Bato has also been buffeted by typhoons. In 2007, two consecutive typhoons obliterated the homes of many of the residents. Ahon Isla managed relief operations and helped residents to return to Isla Puting Bato and to rebuild their houses.

The most recent fire burned the homes of over 1000 families living in Isla Puting Bato. The community health workers, along with CHD, visited evacuees in order to check their blood pressure and conduct check-ups .

The residents of Isla Puting Bato also face constant threats of demolition due to the privatization of Manila's North Harbor. After their homes were burned, the city government forbid residents from returning to and repairing their houses. But during a mass action last May, Isla Puting Bato residents were able to bring in metal sheets and plywood in order to repair their homes. They also joined other urban poor organizations in a protest action at the office of the the Urban Development and Housing Authority in order to condemn the continuing massive demolition of urban poor communities.

Due to the protest, the Manila City Council released a resolution designating Isla Puting Bato as a staging area and allowing Isla Puting Bato Residents to rebuild their homes. According to CHD, Last June, almost 200 Isla Puting Bato residents marched back to their community during the Balik Isla (Return to Isla) campaign in order to reclaim and rebuild their homes, according to CHD.

The lack of health services is another major problem in Isla Puting Bato. Through the help of CHD, Ahon Isla conducted BHSTs. The organization had already organized many medical missions. Thanks to the trainings, there is now a well-organized health committee in Isla Puting Bato.

It is heartening to see how much the women have learned, as well as the pride that they exhibit as a result of their health skills.

“I learned that you shouldn't use alcohol to clean a wound,” said health worker Lorena Maleta during our discussion. She also learned to bring down a high fever by gently wiping a patient with cold water.

These practical skills have enabled the women of Isla Puting Bato to help not only their families, but their neighbors and other community members.

While herbal medicine cannot cure every ailment, the women are grateful that they are able to provide a remedy for common illnesses such as colds, cough and fever.

The nearest hospital is only 15 minutes away, but the jeepney fare to get there costs P20. This is a steep price for many of the women, whose main source of livelihood is peeling garlic. They are paid P5 per kilo. They can peel anywhere from 10 to 18 kilos a day.

The women would like to further improve their health skills. Some of them want to learn how to give injections, while others are interested in learning about midwifery. They also hope to establish their own health center.

According to Dr. Geneve Reyes, who advises Ahon Isla's health program, residents of Isla Puting Bato have realized that health is something to fight for. “Health problems are merely effects what is largely a social ill, and the efforts to alleviate the problems in health does not stop in giving services,” Dr. Reyes added. Ahon Isla 's health committee members are able to reach out to the residents by giving direct services and explain to them why there is a need for them to organize and have a united effort to assert their rights. She adds that education on rights is a crucial component of health trainings and group discussions. This enables community members to analyze the causes of their health problems and empowers them to find solutions. Many AHON Isla members participate not only in mobilizations on health issues, but in rallies on national and other sectoral issues.

The women of Isla Puting Bato recognize that the right to health, which includes the right to shelter, is part of the continuing struggle for social justice. While they continue to upgrade their health skills, they also continue to struggle together to assert their rights.

Bron :


INGEDIEND DOOR HANS SCHAAP OP VRIJ, 31/08/2012 - 05:54.

Hans coordonne les activités d’intal aux Philippines.


Written by Isa Lorenzo

PRIVATIZATION WILL DENY QUALITY HEALTHCARE TO THE POOR

The impending privatization of 26 public hospitals will only further deprive millions of Filipinos of their right to health.

The Philippines now has a population of over 94 million. But just two years ago, a study showed that six out of ten Filipinos had never seen a doctor.

While the latest government data pegs poverty at only 25.6 percent as of 2009, TWHA partner IBON said that this estimate is based on a revised methodology that has reset poverty at subsistence levels. Unemployment rates for the first two years of the Aquino administration are at an all-time high of 26.8 percent.

For those who have work, wages are not enough to sustain a decent life. According to IBON, the daily minimum wage of Php 446 covers only 44 percent of the Php 1,017 family living wage.

Even the Philippine government admits that the country's poor delivery of health services is one of the primary causes of its increasing maternal mortality rate. Health Secretary Enrique Ona told reporters last June that the mortality rate for Filipino mothers has increased to 221 per 100,000 live births in 2011 from 162 per 100,000 live births in 2009. The Millennium Development Goals call for the Philippines must lower the maternal mortality rate to 52 per 100,000 live births.

It is puzzling that while the government recognizes that the country's delivery of health services is already poor, its latest move will only exacerbate the problem.

The right to health is explicitly stated in the Philippine constitution, but the government's recent move to privatize 26 hospitals will deprive millions of Filipinos of access to quality health services.

During the People's Health Assembly the privatization of basic services was defined as “an abdication of responsibility by all levels of government, and the surrender to national and international corporations and private providers that do not recognize social responsibility or accountability to people and communities.”

“Privatization is the biggest threat to the lives and well-being of Filipinos today,” said Dr. Julie Caguiat, training office of TWHA partner Council for Health Development, during her presentation at a conference against the privatization of public hospitals and health services held last July. The conference was convened by the Network Opposed to the Privatization of Healthcare.

Privatization began during the Marcos administration, which set the legal framework for this policy. Succeeding presidents devolved health services and fast-tracked privatization. Privatization is a global phenomenon imposed by international financial institutions such as International Monetary Fund-World Bank (IMF-WB) and the Asian Development Bank upon developing countries like the Philippines. It has been a key thrust of the IMF-WB's structural adjustment program since the Marcos administration.

There are many faces of privatization in the Philippines's healthcare sector. There may be a complete take-over by a business enterprise, or an outright sale. One of the most onerous forms of privatization being proposed by the Aquino administration is the corporatization of 26 public hospitals.

“Privatization transforms state-provided health services into business, thus health becomes an expensive commodity. It ceases to be a right,” said Emma Manuel, the president emeritus of the Alliance of Health Workers, during her presentation at the conference. In the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), corporatization led to an increase in the professional fees of doctors for heart operations. The cost doubled from Php150,000 to Php300,000.
In terms of size, there is a great disparity between the PHC's pay ward, which has a 266-bed capacity, against the service ward, which is only allotted 25 beds.

The government has said that privatization will result in improved facilities and efficient health care. But Manuel argued that in a profit-driven institution, all improvements are meant for profit. “These will mean exorbitant fees which will not be accessible for the majority of the poor.” Under a rate hike this July, the cost of a urine smear at the PHC increased by a third, from Php 915 to Php 1,280. The costs for other procedures, like sputum, more than doubled, from Php 550 to Php 1,280.

Patients who cannot afford to pay their bills are forced to put up their cellphones, land titles, or motor vehicle registrations for “collateral”, which is then sold to PHC employees in an auction that is run by the PHC director, said Bonifacio Carmona Jr., president of the PHC Employees' Association. “In essence the patient is detained because of the lack of government budget and the hospital's maximization of profit,” Carmona said.

The benefits of hospital workers from the PHC and the Lung Center of the Philippines have also been removed or disallowed. Manuel added that privatization results in hospitals being run with as cheap labor as possible. This leads to overworked and underpaid health workers, contractualization, outsourcing, and workers who are hired through agencies or through job orders.

As a result of privatization, quality health care is enjoyed only by the rich, who can afford to pay. Once health care becomes inaccessible for the poor, it intensifies their deprivation and marginalization.
Another reason that the government provides for privatizing government hospitals is that it will generate more savings. To which Manuel responds, “Health is a basic right of the people. It is government’s responsibility to provide this.”

Hospital workers struggling against privatizaton and for the right to health

The government is touting health insurance called PhilHealth as the key to health financing. Yet Dr. Gene Nisperos, Vice Chairperson of the Health Alliance for Democracy, said during the conference that the PhilHealth system enhances inequity. He adds that utilization rates by PhilHealth members are highest among employed members and remain very low among sponsored members. Sponsored members who avail of health services in government hospitals do not have to pay a single centavo under PhilHealth's program. Employed members are better-off than sponsored members. In addition, the highest share of reimbursements go to rich, private institutions and clients.

During his presentation, Dr. Nisperos cited a study from the World Health Organization that showed that while the Philippines has health insurance mechanisms in place, financial protection is still low. Most health expenses are covered by out of pocket expenses, rather than government spending or PhilHealth.

Although the government claims that PhilHealth covers 87 percent of Filipinos, Dr. Nisperos said that according to the National Statistics Office, PhilHealth coverage was less than 40 percent. Private research puts PhilHealth coverage at less than 50 percent.

“Benefits without regulation only leads to more profits for private hospitals,” said Nisperos. The increase in PhilHealth benefit ceilings in secondary and tertiary hospitals, where most common health problems are treated, has led private hospitals to increase their prices.

At the end of the conference, a unity statement was drafted containing the following challenges:
For the Aquino government:
1. Immediately stop the privatization of government hospitals and health services.
2. Fulfill the state’s responsibility to provide for the health of its people.
3. Immediately allocate 5% of the GDP or P487 billion for health

For the Filipino people:
1. Expose and oppose all forms of privatization in all levels
2. Demand a stop to the program of PPP and the policy of privatization
3. Resolutely pursue free, progressive and comprehensive health care for the people




Bron :

INGEDIEND DOOR HANS SCHAAP OP VRIJ, 31/08/2012 - 06:07.
Hans coordonne les activités d’intal aux Philippines.

Written by Isa Lorenzo

'Début du voyage chez Gabriela' at intal‏

ENTRE LE COUTEAU DE CUISINE ET LES HÔPITAUX IMPAYABLES

L'histoire choquante de Jane, une Philippine de 28 ans, qui s'est administrée une césarienne au couteau de cuisine a choqué notre partenaire Gabriela aux Philippines. Cela démontre la non-existence d'un système de soins de santé accessible et efficace pour les plus démunis.


Pour Gabriela, si le pays avait un système de santé qui donnait la priorité à la santé maternelle, aucune mère ne devrait passer par une telle expérience. Selon le Center for Women Resources, il n'y a que 3.050 docteurs, 4.600 infirmières et 16.800 sage-femmes pour soigner les 90 millions de Philippins. L'échec de l'administration philippine pour réduire la mortalité maternelle justifie une révision immédiate des politiques de soins de santé.

Selon Gabriela, le gouvernement doit répondre aux questions plus fondamentales de chômage et de pauvreté en rendant accessibles les soins de santé aux femmes les plus défavorisées qui sont les premières victimes de complications qui pourraient être facilement évitées. La situation est de plus aggravée par le processus de privatisation mis en place par le gouvernement. Aujourd'hui, 26 des plus grands hôpitaux régionaux vont être privatisés (voir la photo ci-contre d'une action menée à ce propos par Gabriela devant le Ministère de la Santé). C'est pourquoi Gabriela continue sa campagne pour l'adoption de la Loi sur la santé reproductive qui permettra aux femmes philippines d'avoir accès à des soins de santé complets. Pour Gabriela, il y a un lien direct entre la privatisation des soins de santé et l'augmentation soudaine des morts maternelles sous les deux dernières années de présidence d'Aquino.

A côté de ça, Gabriela pointe également la réponse irresponsable et inappropriée du Ministère de la Santé ainsi que des unités locales du gouvernement qui veulent interdire aux accoucheuses traditionnelles d'effectuer des naissances à la maison pour des mères qui ne pourraient pas se payer des soins de santé coûteux et lointains. Le Président Aquino et le Ministère de la Santé sont en train de vendre leurs hôpitaux à des riches investisseurs, obligeant les cliniques à faire payer des montants astronomiques aux mères qui viennent accoucher et ils arrivent encore à interdire les accoucheuses traditionnelles de faire leur travail. "De quelle que manière que vous regardiez la situation, il s'agit ni plus ni moins pour l'État d'un abandon de son devoir qui est de faire en sorte que ses citoyens soient en bonne santé et vivants", analyse notre partenaire.

Afin de renforcer l'accusation de Gabriela d'abandon étatique de la santé publique, des coupes drastiques dans les budgets liés au personnel de santé sont à notées. Moins de personnel de santé signifie un appauvrissement des soins de santé liés à la natalité.

Il s'agit d'une sentence de mort pour des millions de femmes qui peuvent à peine faire face à la crise de l'emploi, la pauvreté et l'augmentation du coût de la vie. L'antenne régionale de Gabriela à Iloilo a rapporté que des inspecteurs du Ministère de la Santé ont effectué des contrôles dans des villages pour interdire aux accoucheuses traditionnelles d'offrir des soins aux femmes qui vont accoucher sous peine de pénalité.

Le Ministère de la Santé devrait arrêter son processus de privatisation s'il veut réellement atteindre l'Objectif du Millénaire pour le développement concernant la diminution de la mortalité, et plutôt engager plus d'infirmières et de sage-femmes, promouvoir l'éducation en santé maternelle dans les communautés et améliorer les connaissances des accoucheuses traditionnelles afin que celles-ci préviennent les complications liées à la grossesse, propose notre partenaire.

Article basé sur un article paru le 11 juillet 2012 sur Bulatlat.com.

Gabriela est un partenaire de l'ONG Médecine pour le Tiers Monde. Soutenez-les!

Bron : Intal.be / Fanny

(en) Cubao Quezon City,Anti-Sona 2012- Anarchist Protest in the Philippines

July 23, 2012, Monday ---- A group of anarchist demonstrators wearing mask, around 30
individuals, (with black clothes tied on in their face) unpredictably showed up from
Aurora Avenue, Cubao Quezon City staging uncompromising rebellion against the State of the
Nation Address or SONA. ---- Circle A black flag was waved in the air, along with green
and black and red and black flags that symbolizes an ever-expanding expression of
solidarity in the struggle for radical social change and liberation that are inclusive for
all common people and every walks of life not solely amongst activists circles and
political movements.

Bron :  a-infos-en@ainfos.ca

SOLIDARITY JAM POUR LA LIBÉRATION D'ERICSON ACOSTA, PRISONNIER POLITIQUE PHILIPPIN

Ericson Acosta est un poète philippin, journaliste, travailleur social et actif dans les mouvements de défense des droits de l'homme. Le 13 février 2011, il a été arrêté par des militaires alors qu'il était en train de mener une enquête concernant des faits de violation des droits de l'homme à Samar, une des nombreuses îles qui composent les Philippines. Il a été interrogé et torturé, et finalement reconnu coupable d'être en possession d'explosifs. C'est une des raisons régulièrement invoquée pour mettre en prison (voire assassiner) les activistes qui osent critiquer le gouvernement philippin. Malgré sa détention, Ericson est toujours un artiste et un activiste libre de faire entendre sa voix, avec l'aide de ses amis et de ses sympathisants. Son blog en est la preuve!

En tant que mouvement de solidarité international, nous voudrions avec intal organiser une "solidarity jam" pour sa libération au côté d'artistes engagés. Ce sera une soirée dédiée à la musique et à la poésie. Afin d'en faire une réussite, nous avons besoin de votre soutien sonore! Le but est que tous ceux qui veulent se produire, aient l'occasion de le faire. "Chansons de liberté", chants de résistance, mais également des sujets plus légers sont plus que les bienvenus. Le travail personnel d'Ericson sera également présenté et nous demanderons à tout le monde de signer la pétition pour exiger sa libération. Une soirée comme celle-ci constituera un encouragement pour Ericson, mais également pour les nombreux autres prisonniers politiques qui n'ont commis que le crime de se battre pour un monde plus juste.

La solidarity jam aura lieu le vendredi 22 juin à 18h jusqu'à 22h, dans le Via-via café, Quai à la Houille 9 dans le centre de Bruxelles. Arriver à l'improviste est bien sûr possible, mais prévenir de votre venue est souhaité dans la mesure où nous pourrons ainsi vous mettre à l'agenda et prévoir le matériel nécessaire.

Envie de participer? Rendez-vous sur notre page Facebook et/ou envoyez-nous un mail via bxl.philippines@intal.be

Et nous aurons naturellement besoin de public, donc soyez tous les bienvenus!

Regardez également le témoignage de Renato Reyes Jr., président de la coupole des mouvements populaires philippins et ami d'Ericson.

Interview met Renato Reyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLOdUOH_MUA&feature=player_embedded

Bron : intal BXL Philippines: