THE City Council passed the third and final reading Tuesday, October 11, an ordinance establishing systems and mechanisms for the implementation of the “maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition (MNCHN) strategy” in Davao City.
In Tuesday's Pulong-Pulong ni Pulong at the councilors lounge in Davao City Council, committee on health chair, councilor Mary Joselle Dilig-Villafuerte said the ordinance was created to address the issues and concerns on MNCHN.
Villafuerte said this will serve as a tool, which the city can use to implement the programs in the City Health Office (CHO) for the maternal and child health, full immunization of the children, prevention of diseases, and good nutrition.
“This particular piece of legislation began sometime in June to July 2014 during my first term. We hope this will also add to our good works with regards to programs geared towards serving women and children in the city,” Villafuerte said.
The implementing agency for this ordinance will be the CHO, while the city will rely on the Department of Health (DOH) for the technical assistance, trainings and seminars, and will coordinate with other related-agencies.
Villafuerte said they will also work with the Mindanao Health Jhpiego, a five year (2013-2018) United States Agency for International Development (USAid) health service delivery strengthening the project implemented by the Jhpiego, an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University dedicated to improve the health of women and families.
The organization supports DOH-led scale up of high-impact services and client-centered information to improve child health and nutrition, and reduce maternal and infant deaths, including the unmet needs for family planning services.
She said the ordinance was developed following the increase of the maternal and infant deaths in the city for the past years.
Though the deaths has been declining, the city is still working on programs meant to lower the same deaths.
"It has been going down but we do not want to relax. Right now, we have noted around 28 maternal deaths since last year. But we are afraid that this is not the best number because there are still women who deliver at home," Villafuerte said.
She said the government is still finding out if there are maternal deaths still occurring in geographically isolated areas of the Davao City.
