NGO to open ‘after-5 clinic’ for adolescents in Iloilo

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1010929
• Thursday, September 28, 2017

By Perla Lena

ILOILO CITY -- An alternative adolescent service provider will be made available by the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP) in a mall here to capture clients that could not be served by the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. operations of rural health units (RHUs).

Monalisa Diones, chapter program manager of FPOP Iloilo, on Tuesday afternoon said they are hoping to open their mall-based alternative adolescent service delivery this October 1 at Robinsons Mall. It will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily.

“We will be providing DOH-standard services,” Diones said.

The services will include maternal and child health; family planning that will cover information and education, counseling and service provision; medical checkup, immunization, education , among others, focusing on adolescents; testing, counseling and service provision for patients with sexually transmitted infections/diseases (STIs/STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and support to victims of gender-based violence.

Diones said they will be signing an agreement with the city social welfare and development office (CSWDO) in cases of referral, especially for minors, for the program on gender-based violence.

“This initiative will be going hand-in-hand with the MOP (manual of operations) of the DOH since this is also one of the pilot regions in the Philippines,” she added.

FPOP will also provide technical assistance on how to build an adolescent-friendly clinic in provinces of the region, she said.

On Tuesday, the DOH launched its first ever manual of operations for adolescent health and development program (AHDP) in this city.

An orientation for health implementers in the provinces and cities kicked off today while the municipal level service providers will be briefed of the manual in 2018.

The manual has eight sections to include discussions on the context of an adolescent, adolescent health and development program, program development and management, strategies in improving ADHP, standard for quality adolescent-friendly health services, building service delivery network, monitoring, and evaluation and the last section that contains annexes and resources. (PNA)