By Roberto R. Romulo, The Philippine Star

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) continues to face economic and social development challenges and has one of the country’s worst health indicators. The Zuellig Family Foundation’s (ZFF) work in the ARMM started with four municipalities in 2008. Significant improvements in maternal and child health were achieved in these municipalities. This experience laid the groundwork for ushering in more partners and LGUs in the region. Under a partnership agreement with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), ZFF expanded to 24 more municipalities.

Last Oct. 14, ZFF jointly organized with the DOH, USAID and DOH-ARMM a Colloquium that marked the culmination of a two-year Health Leaders for the Poor Program participated in by leaders from the 19 municipalities in ARMM.

ZFF chairman Romulo and ARMM Health Secretary Sinolinding presented a certificate of appreciation for USAID and as a token of gratitude and farewell, a Bayanihan sculpture, to Ambassador Goldberg.

Despite the challenges, there were six LGUs who achieved the Philippine target of 90 percent in skilled birth attendance and facility based deliveries. These municipalities were recognized during the Colloquium: Taraka and Masiu in Lanao del Sur; Sultan Mastura in Maguindanao; Tandubas in Tawi-Tawi; Kalingalan Caluang in Sulu and Akbar from Basilan.

ZFF chairman Romulo and ARMM Health Secretary Sinolinding presented a certificate of appreciation for USAID and as a token of gratitude and farewell, a Bayanihan sculpture, to Ambassador Goldberg.

While there have been marked improvements in maternal health and tuberculosis outcomes, program results also show the continued need for interventions in the ARMM.

DOH Secretary Paulyn Ubial said “the Department cannot do this alone, we need partners, and we need you to be able to help us meet the challenges.” This perfectly coincides with American Ambassador Philip Goldberg’s message, wherein he cited that from “2012 to 2017, USAID is contributing more than three billion pesos to Mindanao and ARMM, with 500 million pesos specifically allocated for health activities.”

Vice-President Leni Robredo stressed in her keynote speech that “the key to ARMM’S progress is good governance, strong and honest leadership, transparency and accountability….. I believe that is why Zuellig’s and USAID’s health program is working so well.

“We all know that when mayors first get elected, they have no idea about the intensity of public health challenges they will face. More so the solutions that are urgently needed. Programs like yours (DOH) and partners like Zuellig and USAID allow mayors to quickly understand the problem and become a catalyst for change. The mayor understands that he needs to go beyond medical missions or paying for the medicine and hospital bills of his constituents, establish a clear vision for health change and be a health ambassador, so that his constituents develop co-ownership of health programs…. Ultimately, he must be committed to providing health services to all, especially the poor.”

On behalf of the Zuellig Family Foundation, we wish to thank the DOH, USAID and ARMM for their sustained support of our Health Leadership and Governance program.

This column can also be viewed at http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/10/21/1635639/health-everybodys-concern.

“The keys to ARMM’s progress are good governance, strong and honest leadership, transparency and accountability, and an ability to love its history,” Vice President Leni Robredo said in a colloquium of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) health leaders.

“Programs like yours and partners like Zuellig and USAID allow mayors to quickly understand the problem and become a catalyst for change,” Robredo added, pertaining to the Zuellig Family Foundation’s multi-modular training for local leaders that seeks to improve their understanding of the public health system to effectively provide programs that would address their constituents’ health needs.

She said the mayors need to go beyond medical missions or paying for the medicine and hospital bills of his constituents, establish a clear vision for health change, so that his constituents develop co-ownership of health programs.

The program is supported by the Department of Health (DOH) and the United States Agency for International Development, and at the event DOH Secretary Pauline Ubial stressed the government’s thrust for an inclusive healthcare. She said, “The Philippine Health Agenda is for everyone including our Muslim leaders, our Moro leaders and our Moro people, so our battle cry is All for Health towards Health for All.” She added the new health agenda includes financial risk protection and the “best possible health outcomes for all Filipinos with very little disparities across social economic class, race, ethnicity and geographic situation.”

Among the 19 ARMM municipalities recognized for finishing the program were Akbar, Albarka, Lamitan, Lantawan, Simisip, Tabuan Lasa, Tipo-Tipo, Tuburanand Ungkaya Pukan in Basilan; Kalingalan Caluang in Sulu; Sibutu, South Ubian and Tandubas in Tawi-Tawi; Masiu, Piagapo, Pualas and Taraka in Lanao del Sur; and Sultan Mastura and Sultan Sa Barongis in Maguindanao.

In 2009, ZFF began its health intervention program in select municipalities in ARMM using its Health Change Model as strategy. By 2013 it expanded its reach to 39 municipalities, or 34 percent of all ARMM municipalities.

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In photo are (from left) USIAD Director for Office of Health Karen Klimowski, ZFF President Ernesto Garilao, Tandubas’ Mayor Rahiema Salih and municipal health officer Dr. Allahminda Uriben and DOH-ARMM Secretary Khadil Sinolinding. Tandubas received a special citation for reaching the national target of 90 percent for facility-based delivery during the ARMM Colloquium on October 14.

Two fourth-class geographically isolated and disadvantaged municipalities are the pilot areas for a nutrition project to reduce prevalence of low birthweight, stunting, wasting, underweight children and underweight expectant mothers.

Gamay, Northern Samar and Looc, Romblon are sites of the Zuellig Family Foundation’s (ZFF) three-year project supported by Switzerland-based Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation, which provided $300,000, or over P14 million worth of grants.

Using the bridging leadership framework as key strategy for health leadership transformation of local chief executives, it will document a change strategy to promote healthy eating behavior and address poor maternal and child nutrition.

Latest 2015 data show malnutrition rate of Gamay and Looc are at 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The accuracy of numbers still has to be determined considering factors such as underreporting, availability and functionality of assessment equipment, as well as the competence of staff.

Thus, the project involves capacitating barangay nutrition scholars (BNS) on community-based nutrition promotion and counselling. ZFF tapped the University of the Philippines Los Baños-Institute of Human Nutrition and Food for training BNS and for coming up with a training module.

This project is also aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 2, or “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.”

In photo are Gamay Mayor Mayor Timoteo Capoquian and Looc Mayor Leila Arboleda (center left and center right, respectively) during the official launch of the project St. Giles Hotel in Makati. The two leaders led the commitment signing declaring their support to the First 100 Days Initiative, which aims to promote and protect welfare of mothers and their children.

By Frinston Lim, Inquirer.net

When then 14-year-old Mary Ann Mandesi gave birth to her eldest inside her house in Barangay New La Union here, she was in excruciating pain for 24 hours. It was the longest day of her life.
She thought she would not see her firstborn. “I labored for almost a day,” the T’boli woman, now 34, recalled. A hilot (traditional midwife) assisted the birth. Her child was born with Down syndrome.

The harrowing experience prompted Mandesi to decide against having another child for more than a decade.
Her second child came when Mandesi was 28, and again, in spite of her brush with death during the first, the young mother gave birth at home.

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Zuellig Family Foundation’s (ZFF) “Health Leadership for the Poor” (HLP) program alumna Mayor Alfredo Coro II of Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte has been selected among leaders coming from Southeast Asia and China to be part of the fourth fellowship cohort of The Equity Initiative. It is a program of the China Medical Board, an independent American foundation working to advance health, equity and quality of care in Southeast Asia and China.

Since his participation in HLP, a program to help leaders understand the local health system to improve local health outcomes, Coro and his local health team were able to form the Seal of Good Health Governance (SOHG) program. The SOHG is a health monitoring initiative which started at the village level and was soon replicated in other municipalities across the Philippines. It garnered recognitions from different government agencies and organizations including the Health Governance Award of the Kaya Natin! Movement in 2015, the Galing Pook Awards in 2015, and the Social Innovation for Health Initiative Award in 2017. Close monitoring of health status through this initiative led to improvements in maternal health and sanitation, among others.

Coro also received ZFF’s “Outstanding Bridging Leader” awards in 2015 and 2018.

Through the 12-month The Equity Initiative fellowship, Coro will further explore health equity and leadership through various learning activities. These include exposure to cultural, political and historical contexts of on-the-ground health equity issues and social movements in and out of Southeast Asia to spark dialogue, critical thinking and problem analysis among fellows.

Peers are expected to give feedback to the fellows’ collaborative health equity projects, while experts will guide them about funding.

Further, The Equity Initiative fellows will also join the global Atlantic Fellows community to “advance fairer, healthier, and more inclusive societies” and to provide them access to other potential funding opportunities.