JPMNH hands over knowledge products to new DOH secretary
The JPMNH heads of agencies and implementing partners, seen here with DOC Sec. Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, expressed continued commitment to improve maternal and neonatal health care.
The Joint Programme on Maternal and Neonatal Health (JPMNH) symbolically handed over the knowledge products it had developed in its seven years of implementation to Department of Health (DOH) Secretary and JPMNH Chairperson Dr. Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial on June 23, 2016 in Quezon City. Among these knowledge products are the manuals for rCHITS or, Real Time Monitoring of Maternal and Child Health through the Community Health Information Tracking System.
JPMNH is a partnership among United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Australian Aid, World Health Organization (WHO), and DOH. An implementing partner of JPMNH, the National Telehealth Center was represented by rCHITS Project Manager and University Researcher Mr. Arturo Ongkeko in the ceremony.
According to WHO, the JPMNH knowledge products will provide the country’s leaders and health staff with “tools and methodologies to accurately and adequately assess aspects of maternal and neonatal health care…, build health care capacity through training, and plan health care strategies that will address key issues in maternal and neonatal health care.”
Secretary Ubial talked about her framework for a health sector reform which will be implemented under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Called “Kalusugan Para sa Lahat: All for Health Towards Health for All,” Ubial’s framework highlights the importance of effective service delivery networks (SDNs). “At the heart of my health sector reform is really looking at the continuum of care. There should be no break in the health system,” the new DOH secretary said. She pointed out that her marching order from the President is to ensure that the 20 million poorest Filipinos will have universal access to quality health care.
As JPMNH ended its two-phase implementation, WHO Representative Dr. Gundo Weiler promised to continue providing support in order to improve the health of mothers and newborns in the country.
Partner communities in Mindanao that implemented rCHITS, specifically Region XII, presented their accomplishments and plans for sustainability in an SDN forum that followed.
