LUNA, Apayao – The provincial office of the Department of Health (DOH-Apayao) on Monday said that among the 133 barangays and 5 administrative barangays in Apayao, over 128,167 residents have received essential health care services through its PuroKalusugan program.
This program aims to engage local health systems, respond to the needs of the community, and translate health interventions, from health promotion to disease prevention measures, into grassroots actions.
These actions include the following: engaging the DOH, local governments, and other health champions to improve through direct delivery of healthcare services; ensuring sustainable healthcare practices and providing a wide range of healthcare services by implementing efficient patient navigation, referral process, and resource sharing.
Through these initiatives implemented by the DOH and supported by the local chief executives and other elected officials of Apayao, it hopes to attain 8 priority health outcomes, as follows:
Immunization: Achieve 95% Fully Immunized Children from 72%, Nutrition (First 1,000 Days): Decrease stunting to 13.5% from 27%, Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): Increase percentage of population with access to safe water from 88% to 100%, Maternal Health: Decrease maternal death to <111 per 100,000 livebirths from 154 per 100,000 livebirths.
Tuberculosis and HIV: Tuberculosis- Zero TB Case Mortality Rate from 34 per 100,000 population and HIV: 85% of PLHIV should be diagnosed, 85% of those diagnosed with HIV should be receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 85% of all those receiving ART should achieve viral suppression.
Road Safety: Decrease death rate attributed to road injuries to 4 from 8 per 100,000 population
No Communicable Diseases, specifically Hypertension and Diabetes: Increase hypertension and diabetes management by 50%
Non Communicable Diseases, specifically Cancer: Increase screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by 50%
Meanwhile, the provincial government gave its strong commitment to the program of DOH to accelerate Universal Health Care, aligning closely with the initiatives of Governor Elias C. Bulut Jr.
These collective efforts underscore Apayao’s dedication to building a healthier, more resilient community for all its residents. By Ginalyn Gapusan
