No mother should die while giving birth
Maternal mortality is a serious healthcare concern worldwide. In the Philippines, there are 114 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, based on the 2017 report by the Asian Development Bank.
Protecting mothers from death, while giving life is at the core of MSD for Mothers and the Zuellig Family Foundation’s (ZFF) three-year alliance that aims to improve maternal care in 20 Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) in Samar and Northern Samar provinces.
The partnership began in 2013, with the program, “MSD for Mothers and ZFF Community Health Partnership: The Joint Initiative” that followed ZFF’s “Health Change Model,” with the local mayors, community leaders and health workers who underwent transformative leadership training that enabled them to understand the significance of their role in developing healthcare systems for the poor.
“With MSD for Mothers, we intensified our efforts to engage with barangay (village) leaders because their ownership of the healthcare challenges proved effective in quickly addressing them, particularly where barangays are difficult to reach such as in coastal and upland areas,” explained Ramon Derige, vice president of ZFF.
“No mother should die while giving life,” noted Beaver Tamesis,pPresident and managing director of MSD in the Philippines. “Maternal mortality is one of the many problems that MSD sees as a threat to the health and well-being not only of mothers, but also has a significant effect to their families and community. This partnership program was the first in Asia for MSD for Mothers. From its conception until now we are seeing it to its fruition; the program is one corporate responsibility initiative we are most proud of as we know this is where we can make a great difference for the purpose of life.”
To encourage collaborative leadership to improve maternal health, the “BIDA sa GIDA” framework and mantra was piloted as an integral part of the approach. “BIDA” stood for Bulig, Inspirasyon, Dedikasyon, at Aksyon (help, inspiration, dedication and action). “This tagline motivates everyone to do their duty well, even though it requires traveling to farflung places to bring basic healthcare services. ‘BIDA sa GIDA’ values empowered them,” noted Axell Alterado, associate at ZFF.
The National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) reported in 2012 that the Region VIII provinces of Samar recorded a higher poverty incidence compared to the regional rate. Not surprisingly, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of these provinces was very high, way beyond the national goal of 52 by 2015. The initiative’s objectives were hinged on improving leadership and governance; enhancing local health systems and health-seeking behavior; and increasing community participation.
Through engagements, trainings and coaching, the number of maternal deaths decreased from 27 at the onset of the project to eight in 2015. Mothers choosing facility-based deliveries (FBD) increased from 55 to 85 percent; deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants increased from 71 to 87 percent; and contraceptive prevalence rates rose from 34 to 40 percent. ZFF also donated birthing facilities or halfway homes in the far-flung areas, and use of facilities and childbirth delivery were accredited as part of PhilHealth benefits.
The number of health workers trained in the BIDA sa GIDA Modules has reached 118 including 91 midwives, 14 public health nurses, and 13 barangay health worker federation presidents in a span of three years.
The implementation of the initiative was not without its challenges, such as the change in leadership which tested its sustainability.
“Fortunately, the positive health outcomes were more than enough to encourage local chief executives to continue their involvement and commitment to the program. We reached out to new mayors to attend the same training regimen,” noted Derige.
Through the health leadership program, Mayor Matuguinao Mayor Melissa Dela Cruz now takes full ownership of her peoples’ health. “I know 100 percent facility-based delivery is a distant dream given our town’s location, so we continue to think about means and ways to get more mothers to choose FBD,” she said.
“It also helped that the program has a module on sustainability. Each program module is like a journey for each health leader, spanning over six months before moving to the next so the values really get ingrained,” shared Dr. Jeremiah Calderon, manager at ZFF.
To share and consolidate learnings from the GIDA communities that were part of the Joint Development Initiative, a GIDA Summit was recently held by the DOH Regional Office 8 in Leyte Park Hotel at Tacloban. Showcased during the summit was the health leadership program supported by MSD for Mothers which was instrumental in the development of the GIDA framework employed by ZFF, and hopefully to be replicated in similar areas across the nation.