Barangay health workers: The community’s modern heroes
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the COVID-19 disease as a global pandemic. Considered as the country with the longest lockdown, the Philippines was still the only country in the World Health Organization’s ( WHO) 22-member Western Pacific region that continues to report thousands of COVID-19 cases daily. In line with this, the Philippine government mandated the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine in the country. Each and and every communities in the country strengthened its response by actively implementing health protocols to their respective barangays with Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) as the leading mobilizer in implementing health-related protocols.
In the Philippines, BHWs were considered volunteers under Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7883, known as The Barangay Health Workers’ Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995. This law recognizes BHWs as an essential individual in providing community and individual access to health information and services needed for healthier populations.
Barangay Health Workers are essential in remote provinces where state hospitals and doctors were several hours away. Both were on the front lines and were the only semblance of public health care in the country. Various bills have been proposed in many corners of our country to improve the benefits and incentives of BHWs. The full implementation of R.A. 7883 is significant to improve healthcare workers’ well-being and provide them with the benefits and incentives that the Magna Carta creates for public health workers. According to RA 7883, the Department of Health (DOH) shall determine the ideal ratio of barangay health workers to the number of households: provided that the total number of barangay health workers nationwide shall not exceed one percent (1%) of the total population. Thus, they recommended that each municipality keep a BHW to population ratio of 1 per 120 residents.
These BHWs are one of the people who served at the front line of outbreak response, through the implementation DILG Memorandum Circular No. 023-2020, or the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs). When the BHERT was put into action in accordance with the health protocols carried out by the DOH and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the information, education, and communication campaign and response to COVID 19 was more locally intensified. The BHERT, which was composed of an executive officer, a barangay tanod, and two barangay health workers (BHWs) were the first-line respondents in the community to help manage all COVID-related healthcare issues. The BHERT is responsible in managing all COVIDrelated healthcare needs in the community. Most importantly, together with the Local Epidemiology and Surveillance Units and Contact Tracing Teams, they will proactively trace and find positive cases in the community. They will also facilitate the transfer of residents in the barangays and villages to temporary treatment and monitoring facilities for isolation once they experience Covid-19 symptoms. Furthermore, the BHERT is also the primary mobilizer in implementing minimum public health standards in the barangays and promote awareness of the virus.( Contributed article)