Difference between revisions of "Southern Leyte Province, Philippines"

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Southern Leyte Province, Philippines (view source)

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 ==[[Southern Leyte News]]==
-'''1st zoo in Eastern Visayas opens in Maasin City'''
+'''Affordable health services for 700,000 Filipinos'''
-*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R08&article=1291335494267
+*Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/columnist1/21944-affordable-health-services-for-700000-filipinos
-*Friday, April 27, 2012
+*Sunday, April 29, 2012
-:by  Rebecca S. Cadavos
+:by  RANDOM JOTTINGS
-MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, April 27 (PIA) -- Organized by the Southern Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SLCCI) in coordination with the city government of Maasin, the Maasin City Nature and Wildlife Park or simply known as Maasin Zoo had its soft opening, April 26, Thursday, situated at Danao Forest Park, Sitio Danao, Malapoc Norte, this city.
+LOW income families living in the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar in the Eastern Visayas region will soon have increased access to affordable maternal health services, thanks to the World Bank which – acting as administrator for the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) – has approved a grant of US$3.6 million towards the project.
-The soft opening was conducted hours after the 2nd Eastern Visayas Business Conference was held at the Kuting Reef, in the municipality of Macrohon. Twelve (12) chambers of commerce and industry that attended the business meeting trouped to Maasin Zoo for the soft opening, the first throughout Eastern Visayas region.
+The project will be implemented over a 4-year period by Population Services Pilipinas Incorporated (PSPI) supported by Marie Stopes International Australia (MSIA), established providers of maternal and child health care in the Philippines since 1990. About 145,000 poor families (an estimated 700,000 individuals) are expected to benefit through subsidized access to services including birth delivery and pre- and post-natal care.
-The soft opening held at past three in the afternoon started with a short program, attended by different stakeholders, media practitioners, local and regional officials and visitors composed of the 12 chambers throughout Eastern Visayas coming from Palompon, Baybay, Isabel, Ormoc, Leyte, Calbayog, Samar, Catarman, Northern Samar, Guian, Burauen, and the Southern Leyte CCI headed by its President Robert Castañares. The program was hosted by Zaldy Olita from the city government.
+The National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) has a mandate to provide universal health insurance coverage to all Filipinos and a solution is needed for the large numbers of indigent and informal sector workers that remain excluded from social health insurance coverage. A 2010 Philippine Health Sector Review found that reforms in the past decades have improved overall health outcomes; however, disparities in access to quality health services and health insurance coverage remain an issue for the poor.
-A tour around Maasin zoo was made after the program, led by Maasin City Mayor Maloney Samaco with the Sangguniang Panglungsod members, Regional Directors from the Department of Tourism (DOT), Karina Rosa Santiago, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)Cynthia Nierras and Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Edgar Esperancilla and investors of the zoo.
+The GPOBA-funded scheme explicitly targets the poor to help address some of the barriers to their access to quality health services, with a 3-part approach: accreditation of 45 service providers in the project area to ensure improved quality of care and the capacity to meet increased demand; enrolment of about 145,000 families, identified and determined as poor by the National Household Targeting System, to ensure that the project reaches those who need it most; and a subsidized voucher scheme to bridge the gap between co-payments charged by health service providers and the amount that target project beneficiaries can afford to pay for approved services.
-Animals that can be seen at Maasin Zoo are two camels, two miniature horses, three tigers, one small Celebes Black Ape, two red-necked ostrich, crocodiles, snakes, and different species of birds such as the silver pheasant, victoria crown, umbrella and black palm cockatoos, Philippine eagle, among other classes of birds.
+“This output-based aid scheme supports the new government’s reform agenda to achieve universal access to health care,” said Motoo Konishi, World Bank Country Director for the Philippines. “The project also makes access to quality health services affordable through the subsidized voucher component and more inclusive by explicitly targeting the poor.”
-A grand opening of Maasin Zoo is set next month, May, while summer break is on the wane, it was learned.
+The project will address barriers to health service access by expanding insurance coverage of the poor and by supporting the upgrade of additional service providers in order to meet the national Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) accreditation requirements.
-SLCCI President Castañares was grateful for the realization of one of the tourism hubs in Southern Leyte, saying that, “the local economy can benefit through building this major tourism hub in the province.” He was pleased with the visitors who came from other parts of region 8 for them to observe while the zoo is still under construction.
+Consistent with the OBA approach, GPOBA will retain an independent verification agent to verify output delivery, including service provider upgrading, and that pre-agreed targets have been met by the project partners before subsidy payments are made. Independent verification makes aid more transparent by linking payment to the delivery of specific services or “outputs.”
-The 30-hectare park is located in the 500-hectare Danao Forest Reserve in the upland barangay of Malapoc Norte, 14-kilometer away from the city proper and situated 335 meters above sea level. (ldl/rgc-PIA 8, Southern Leyte)
+“We are enthusiastic about using an innovative approach, as part of a joint effort with PhilHealth, to meet the needs of a population that cannot afford to pay for access to basic health services and to support the government’s commitment to reducing maternal and infant mortality,” said Virgilio Pernito, Chief Executive Officer of PSPI.
+Globally, more than 350,000 women die each year due to pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. For the Philippines, this initiative is an important step towards the goal of reducing maternal mortality rates to 52 deaths per 100,000 live births, although past experience suggests that goal may be difficult to attain.
+This program is in direct response to the Philippine government’s commitment to pilot interventions that improve the health outcomes, particularly the maternal and reproductive health status, of poor populations.
 ==Photo Gallery of Southern Leyte, Philippines==