HEALTH Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial
remains confident the dream of achieving Universal Health Care in the
Philippines would soon become a reality after studying the universal system
being implemented in Cuba.
“We hope that our country will benefit from
the Cuban medical cooperation in attaining All for Health towards Health for
All!” said Ubial, echoing her clarion call for the Philippine public health
system.
She expressed optimism the country would have
the opportunity to benefit from medical cooperation with the Caribbean nation
which is sending a team of Cuban health professionals to the country.
“This visit aims to learn from Cuba’s public
health care system in order to work towards providing Universal Health Care in
the Philippines,” said Ubial.
She commended the Cuban health system and
expressed her interest in holding further exchanges, noting that medical
cooperation with Cuba has been ongoing since 1960 and has been very beneficial.
The health secretary led the Philippine
delegation in an official visit to Havana, Cuba last August 23 to 26, 2016 to
learn about Cuba’s popular health system and have a fruitful exchange of
information with health authorities.
President Rodrigo Duterte, impressed with
Cuba’s success in public health, strongly endorsed the visit which was
facilitated by the World Health Organization.
Last Aug. 24, 2016, the delegation met with a
group of specialists from the Hermanos Ameijeiras Clinical and Surgical
Hospital in the Cuban capital highlighting the importance of its role in
introducing new technologies in the country.
The health chief also visited the 19 de Abril
Policlinic in Havana, where the “Family Doctor and Nurse Program” was explained
to the group.
On August 25, the group visited the Escuela
Latino Americana de Medicina, an institution that has trained more than 27,000
doctors from various countries including Philippines. Three (3) Filipino
medical students had the chance to meet secretary.
The members of the visiting delegation
studied information concerning preparation and response to emergencies from the
Unidad Central de Cooperacion Medicina (Central Unit of Medical Cooperation).
This training institution has deployed 45,893
doctors in 86 countries to respond to emergencies and disaster since 1984.
The Philippine delegation held an exit
meeting with Dr. Roberto Morales, head of the Ministry of the Public Health,
and other Cuban health officials with whom Ubial discussed health issues of
bilateral interest.
Cancer survivor group New Vois Association of
the Philippines (NVAP) president Emer Rojas said there is so much that the
Philippines can learn from the Cuban health care system, which is recognized
even by the WHO for its efficiency in making health services available to all.
Despite its limited resources, he said health
care in Cuba is free and universal and emphasized that health is a fundamental
right that is enshrined in their constitution and guaranteed by the state.
Rojas said the Philippines can take
inspiration from the Cuban model considering that access to health services is
a huge problem in the country.
“It is estimated that 63% of Filipinos die
without ever seeing a doctor and many do not have access to medicines specially
in rural areas. By taking inspiration from Cuba’s health care, we hope that
access to health services will improve under the Duterte administration,” he
said.
He noted that Cuba’s public health system is
mainly anchored on preventive health care which enables the country to use its
limited resources to research and development resulting to quality medical
services.
“They have family doctors per area who
oversea the health of families living around clinics. They do annual checkups
and assessments for free. By doing these the system prevents people from
getting sick and resources are used for other purposes like improving training
for medical practitioners and technology development,” the NVAP president said.
Rojas, a global cancer ambassador and
representative for the disabled of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, said
improving the country’s public health system would greatly benefit smokers and
PWDs who are two of the most disadvantaged sectors when it comes to accessing
medical services.
Rojas noted that despite an improved
membership enrollment by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth) access to health care services is still limited to paying patients
and health facilities mostly located in urban areas.
“Improving health care accessibility is an
essential part of development. We are happy that the Duterte administration is
taking the step in the right direction,” he said.
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