IT is inherent for Filipinos to endure any striking pain and prolonged symptoms or let a disease take over their lives rather than seek medical help.
As various issues surround healthcare in the Philippines, a key problem is the lack of access to primary healthcare services, particularly those living in rural communities where the nearest health center is hours away. How to reach the health center is another story.
Rural health centers are health facilities at the forefront providing primary health services, such as first aid, immunization, consultation, dental services, and childbirth. However, due to lack of funding and support, these health centers tend to deteriorate over the years for prioritizing delivery of much-needed services rather than rehabilitation.
One of the institutions that recognized the urgency of the problem is BDO Foundation (BDOF), the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank, as it observed that the country’s rural health centers are in a “state of despair” that needs repairing.
180 and more
BDO Foundation recently reached a significant milestone for completing the rehabilitation of 180 rural health centers all over the country since its initiative began in 2012 to enhance the healthcare delivery system in the country.
This rehabilitation project will benefit over 8.6 million Filipinos who can now have better access to healthcare facilities.
“BDO Foundation decided to help rural health units [in the country] because we believe that it is one of the most important facilities in the community,” BDOF President Mario Deriquito told the BusinessMirror.
Broken down, BDOF has rehabilitated 60 health centers in Luzon, 90 in the Visayas, and 30 in Mindanao.
For this year alone, BDOF has turned over 20 rehabilitated health centers as of April 2024 compared to a total of 29 centers for the whole 2023.
The foundation aims to rehabilitate 50 more rural health centers by the end of the year or early next year, and then another batch for 2025.
The rehabilitation mostly includes renovating the exteriors; reconfiguring layouts to allow more air and light inside; provision of basic furniture and appliances; repainting; and redesigning to include lobbies and waiting areas, offices and pantries for healthcare workers, birthing clinics, consultation rooms, treatment rooms, and pharmacies.
It also includes the establishment of breastfeeding stations to provide privacy for breastfeeding moms, play areas for the kids, and waiting lounges for the elderly if there are available spaces. The foundation will also allow a one-time minor upkeep after four to five years if needed.
Deriquito shared that whenever they would turn over the renovated health center, the community it serves would be beaming with joy.
“Sabi nga ng mga pasyente, ‘Pagpasok mo pa lang [ng health center] parang kalahati ng sakit mo nawala na’ [Patients would say, ‘Just entering the health center would make you feel as if half of your disease has been cured’],” Deriquito recounted.
A retiring municipal health officer in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, shared that throughout her career, the renovated health center was the “best” workplace she ever had.
Built by a community
ACCORDING to Deriquito, the bank considers itself as a part of the community where its bank branches are located. As part of the community, BDO has an obligation to help. “Bawat bayan, bawat lungsod, may presence ng BDO [Every town, every city, BDO has a presence],” Deriquito said.
With over 1,700 operating branches all over the country, the bank, Deriquito said, aims to help both at the local and national level, supporting the universal healthcare goals of the Department of Health (DOH). But for this goal to be realized, Deriquito notes that the local health delivery system, specifically the rural health centers, has to be strengthened since it is in the grassroots.
From the northernmost provinces in the Philippines, such as Ilocos Norte, down to the south in Zamboanga del Sur, Deriquito said the endeavor wouldn’t be possible without the help of the bank’s community banking arm, BDO Network Bank, present in the remote areas.
These rural banks’ officers, Deriquito added, play a key role in identifying health centers in rural communities needing rehabilitation that the foundation cannot do alone, having only eight employees on their roster.
Despite that, over the course of 12 years, the foundation made it possible and even branched out to other initiatives, such as implementing financial education programs together with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and conducting disaster relief operations.
health units [in the country] because we
believe that it is one of the most important
facilities in the community.”—BDO
Foundation President Mario Deriquito
Other pillars
Deriquito cited studies from the BSP, Asian Development Bank and World Bank that all showed the low financial literacy levels of Filipinos.
That’s when the BDO Foundation stepped in to improve the financial literacy levels of Filipinos by educating them in a way different from the usual seminars.
One of BDO Foundation’s notable financial literacy programs is the award-winning Fish N’ Learn, a gamified teaching tool and training intervention co-developed by partners to help improve the financial literacy, productivity, and income-generating capability of 1.9 million fishers in the country.
The game simulates real-life situations that can impact how fisherfolk would act when faced with financial problems, such as debt, spending for occasions like birthdays and fiestas, and saving.
The foundation also developed another award-winning project—five curriculum-based videos on early numeracy to teach and instill numeracy skills to young learners made available for viewing on-air, online, and offline platforms.
When it comes to disaster response, BDO Foundation banks on its officers and staff in bank branches across the country to volunteer to distribute relief goods to those affected in different provinces.
Over 36,000 families hit by volcanic eruptions, typhoons, oil spill and other disasters have received aid from BDO Foundation.
Onwards
DERIQUITO said the foundation remains open to every possibility to contribute to communities.
One of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations that BDO supports is Goal 2: Zero Hunger to achieve food security.
“Maybe we can find ways to help our farmers and fisherfolk to improve their harvest and catch to contribute to the food security of the country,” he suggested.
Among the 96 members of the League of Corporations, BDO is just one of the companies that also has its own ways of doing corporate social responsibility.
However, BDO Foundation is the only one in the private sector that focuses on the rehabilitation of health centers and is at the forefront when it comes to financial education, according to Deriquito.
According to him, the foundation wants to establish a project not just for the purpose of looking good in press releases but ultimately, to uplift the lives of those they help.
“We want to change lives and make living comfortable for them,” he said.
With the unibank as its partner, it may not be hard to expect that together, they will “find ways” to fulfill this mission.
