Childcare 5: The 162 to 52 Summit

There will be a big conference this coming April 20, Friday, at the PICC, on the 162 to 52 Summit. It will be  sponsored by the 162 to 52 Coalition and the 11 big organizations that comprise it, see the poster below.

The Zuellig Family Foundation seems to be one of the major sponsors here. I received an invite from them, so they provide a significant manpower and secretariat support for this.

Here's a situationer and what the numbers "162 to 52" represent:

Everyday, 11 mothers die in the Philippines due to maternity-related causes. This leaves more than 30 children motherless. - UNFPA

As of 2008, the Philippines has an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 162 per 100,000 live births. This is far from our MDG target of 52 deaths per 100,000 live births.

“The shortfalls are brought about by inadequate investments in health and not enough political will of our leaders to do what needs to be done to achieve our goals. Unhappily, these shortfalls leave behind the poorest and the most disadvantaged sectors in our society who remain un-reached by critical health interventions. - Secretary Enrique T. Ona, DOH

Taking care of the young by taking care of the pregnant women and mothers. That is a good philosophy. From the above brief situationer, here is the Coalition's action agenda.

The policy interventions from the national to local governments to civil society groups are outlined.

My comments to the above agenda and interventions.

1. Generally they are good, especially from the perspective of planners -- health planners at the local governments, national (DOH, PhilHealth, etc.), multilaterals and foreign aid (WHO, UNFPA) and some civil society organizations.

2. One thing that is lacking, well ALWAYS lacking in many programs and interventions by governments and even by many civil society organizations, is to encourage more personal responsibility in healthcare. Like reminding or educating mothers and pregnant women: do not smoke, do not drink, do not eat certain unhealthy food,  during pregnancy. Have the proper diet, non-strenuous physical and mental activities during pregnancies. Other family members should do their part, like not smoking in front of the pregnant woman, not giving them unnecessary stress, the spouse and productive members of the family should work and save more for the birth of a new member of the family, and so on.

3. There is a bigger role for civil society organizations (CSOs) therefore, in reminding people of the personal responsibility aspect of healthcare.

Meanwhile, here are portions of the program that day.

Welcome Remarks	Amb. Roberto R. Romulo Chairman Zuellig Family Foundation
Introduction of DOH Secretary
Developing Local Health Systems to Address Health MDGs: the Role for private and non-profit organizations	Dr. Enrique Ona Secretary Department of Health
Mainstreaming the 162 to 52 Coalition: Pursuing Partnerships for Local Health System Development to Attain Health MDGs	Dr. Jeepy Perez Director, DOH-Bureau of Local Health and Development

Arresting Maternal and Infant Mortality through Mother Bles Clinics	Hon. Jericho L. Petilla Governor, Province of Leyte
La Union Medical Center as Economic Enterprise for Sustainability and Development	Dr. Fernando A. Astom Chief Executive Officer,  La Union Medical Center
Responsive leadership and local health system: Enabling improved health-seeking behavior	Hon. Leovigildo Basmayor Mayor, Municipality of Minalabac, Camarines Sur

Priority Areas: scoping current health status including local initiatives, and local health system challenges	Ernesto D. Garilao President, Zuellig Family Foundation
Opportunities for partnership in Local Health System Development	Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan Former Secretary, Department of Health
Harnessing business sector investment in health: creating the enabling environment at the local level	Rafael Lopa Executive Director, Philippine Business for Social Progress

Breakout Session
Grp 1: Leadership and Governance	Mr. Juan A. Villamor
Grp 2: Supply Side	Dr. Jeepy Perez
Grp 3: Demand Side	Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan

Plenary (10 minutes per group)
Responses	Dr. Teodoro Herbosa Head, PPP Taskforce DOH
	Hon. Alfonso Umali, Jr. President,   Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines
	Rafael Lopa Executive Director, Philippine Business for Social Progress
Converging actions for MDG 4 and 5 and the role of United Nations in the Philippines	Ms. Ugochi Daniels Country Representative United Nations Population Fund
Synthesis and Closing	Jaime Galvez-Tan Former Secretary, Department of Health

I have not heard or met a number of these speakers, so it should be a good opportunity to listen to them. I will attend this forum.
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See also:
Childcare 2: Rotary DTP Vaccination, May 24, 2009
Childcare 3: My 2nd daughter, October 04, 2010
Childcare 4: Treatment and Vaccines for Children's Diseases, February 28, 2012