There are many challenges facing women in the Philippines but today we have some things to celebrate. On Monday, the Senate of the Philippines passed Senator Risa Hontiveros’ Senate Bill 1305 or the “Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2017”. If passed into law, this Bill will grant new mothers 120 days of maternity leave. This is a vast improvement on the current benefit that covers only 60 days of leave time. The Bill would also grant new fathers 30 days of leave, which is significantly better than the current allocation of only 7 days.
Recognizing how important it is for new parents to care for and bond with their infants, the most progressive countries in the world grant as long as one year for maternity leave. Studies have found that the longer a new mother can stay home with her baby, the greater the chances are that she will be successful at breastfeeding and that both mother and baby will have improved health outcomes. This is great news for women and families. Maraming salamat po Senator Risa!
Women in Palawan also have reason to celebrate. My organization, Roots of Health, recently began a partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Center for Population and Development (PCPD) to try to improve access to contraceptives in Palawan. The 6-month project entitled DOH-MIMAROPA-CSO Partnership on the RPRH Implementation calls for our organization to provide training to Barangay Health Workers, establish a Service-Delivery Network around the province, and meet the contraceptive needs of women who wish to plan their families but currently are not able to.
We successfully launched the project on March 2 with an initial all-day workshop with our partners and stakeholders among the Department of Health Region 4B leadership, the Palawan Provincial Health Office, the Puerto Princesa City Health Office, the Population Commission, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Palawan Provincial Hospital, the Northern Palawan and Southern Palawan Provincial Hospitals and PCPD.
It was wonderful to have all these leaders for health in one room, and we were particularly honored that Dr. Faith Alberto, Assistant Regional Director for DOH Region 4B, Dr. Mary Ann Navarro, Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Teresa Wycoco, MNCHN and FP Coordinator for the City of Puerto Princesa, Mr. Fernando Macabuag from the Population Commission and Dr. Peter Curameng from the Provincial DOH spent the day planning with us. The group successfully clarified roles, tasks and expectations from each partner for the projects, and came up with a 6-month action plan to achieve the project objectives by August 2017. The project has a target of meeting the contraceptive needs of at least 4,000 women in Palawan.
Roots of Health is so excited to be strengthening our partnerships with our government counterparts while providing services to the women who need them most.
This month and always, Mabuhay ang kababaihan!