Philippines - Over 100,000 people are in urgent need of basic health care in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, eight weeks after the devastation wrought by Typhoon Bopha. Services for pregnant and lactating mothers are a priority, along with provision of healthcare for 15,000 children.
 
IOM is focusing on health support for people in temporary shelters, indigenous populations and hard-to-reach communities.

“We are two months into the response, but continuing bad weather, damage to health centres, and lack of transport to the few health facilities that are still functioning means that the health situation is dire,” says Rose Baguios, IOM’s health team leader in Mindanao.

“The situation is compounded by damaged infrastructure, lack of medicines and supplies, health workers who have not reported back to work since the disaster, overcrowding in temporary shelter sites and the lack of a safe water, “ she added. “It all means that essential preventive, curative and rehabilitative services are being delayed or denied.”

Before the typhoon hit in December there was relatively little community knowledge of emergency preparedness, response and mitigation mechanisms, including health staff and local government, as the island was thought to be out of the usual path of typhoons. This lack of preparedness and coping mechanisms added to the psychological distress for the tens of thousands of affected families.

IOM aims to bridge the gap between immediate emergency health and longer-term well-being by contributing to collective efforts in strengthening the health infrastructure in Davao Oriental, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur and Compostela Valley.

Working closely with Department of Health, WHO and Health Cluster partners, IOM will deliver a three-pronged action for an initial 10,000 displaced persons in communities, evacuation centres and transitional shelters.

Key components of the response include  augmenting clinical services at municipal and baranggay (local) health stations with more personnel, medicines and supplies; constructing three transitional health posts in temporary shelter sites while damaged facilities are being repaired; and building knowledge of psychosocial support and health-related emergency preparedness among local health workers and affected communities.

For more information please contact  

Rose Baguios
IOM Mindanao
Email: rbaguios@iom.int