DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 28, 2012) – The European Union has funded a P350-million health program that will benefit the indigenous peoples in the southern Philippines.
The Indigenous Peoples Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition Project-Mindanao (IP MNCHN Project-Mindanao) said the landmark program will work on the provision of culture-sensitive health services for the indigenous peoples with an end goal of improving access to and utilization of quality essential reproductive health service through a comprehensive and culturally acceptable implementation of the maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition strategy.
It said the Project Steering Committee as co-chaired by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Department of Health will oversee the overall direction and policy of the project.
“This is a crucial meeting as we need to establish a strong foundation for the project. The buck stops at the PSC level and it is very important that we arrive at a decision most sound and responsive to the needs of our Indigenous Peoples. We can only do so with all of us united amidst the complexity of our tasks and mandates as government agencies and peoples organizations,” IP MNCHN Project Director Dr. Lilibeth Malabanan said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Sitting as members of the PSC are representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, National Economic and Development Authority, Mindanao Development Authority, Philippine Commission on Women, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, indigenous peoples organizations, United Nations Population Fun, and the EU delegation.
“We are glad of this partnership with the European Union, the NCIP, and the UNFPA as this goes along with the Kalusugang Pangkalahatang program of the Department of Health. This showcase of partnership will definitely benefit our Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao and the country in general and will also help to achieve the Mindanao Development Goal’s,” Department of Health Director Bureau of International Health Cooperation Dr. Maylene Beltran said.
The PSC approved the Overall Work Plan for the period 2012-2016 along with the project sites and the organizational structure. The initial project sites are Montevista in Compostela Valley province, Carmen town in North Cotabato, and in Kitaotao town in Bukidnon province.
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