The Visayas Primary Healthcare Services, Inc. (VPHCS) expands its community-based health program (CBHP) building efforts to informal settlers relocation sites.
VPHCS staff Dr. Erlinda Posadas met last January 29, 2022 with residents of the Nangka Ville Women’s Association in Sitio Nangka Ville, a relocation site in the hills of Barangay Quiot, Pardo, Cebu City.
Around 144 informal settlers from Sitio Lawis, Pasil and Sitio Tangke, Mambaling have been relocated to the area with the assistance of the city government around three years ago..
Posadas gave an orientation on CBHP as a program developed by the residents themselves with the support of the VPHCS, which provides them with primary health care services, enables them to practice good health seeking behaviors, know how to prevent and control common diseases in their community, and find the resources to keep themselves healthy.
She added that the core of their CBHP are community health workers (CHWs) who shall be trained by the VPHCS to provide basic primary health care services to their residents and to organize health programs such as control of respiratory and diarrheal diseases, nutrition, immunization, environmental sanitation, family planning, and control of dengue fever, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis.
The participants during the meeting then chose ten CHWs who shall also compose the health committee of their organization. They also planned out health activities for this February including planting herbal plants such as lagundi and oregano, identification of malnourished children and a feeding program for them, cultivation of a communal vegetable garden and the first basic health skills training for their CHWs.
They also plan to solicit medical equipment including three blood pressure kits and weighing scales, thermometers and a nebulizer, which shall be used during the training for their CHWs to be organized by the VPHCS.
