World Vision partners with Korean agency to improve maternal, child care in Eastern Visayas

MANILA, Philippines — The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), together with World Vision, recently organized the Policy Forum focusing on Health Referral System as part of their KOICA Maternal Newborn and Child Health Project (KOICA MNCH) in the Eastern Visayas Region, which covers 16 municipalities in the provinces of Leyte, Eastern Samar, Samar and Northern Samar.

One of the long-standing challenges that the Philippines has been dealing with is reducing maternal and child mortality rates, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. In the Eastern Visayas, several provinces have seen an alarmingly high number of infant deaths.

According to a data shared by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the number of infant deaths in these provinces grew from 14.3% in 2021 to 23.5% in 2022.

Among the contributing factors to the problem are:

The KOICA MNCH Project aims to contribute to improving maternal and child health and reducing maternal mortality by supporting MNCH service delivery and accountability. To strengthen community engagement, and ensure the success of the project, the Policy Forum will bring together regional and national government agencies, local government units, INGOs/CSOs, and relevant stakeholders to discuss the pressing issues concerning the health referral system in the region.

The Policy Forum discussed the current landscape of the health referral system in the region. It also aims to provide solutions to the issues and challenges surrounding the health referral system as well as strategies for its effective implementation, and monitoring and evaluation at the community and apex hospital levels.

“We believe everyone has the right to proper healthcare services. Through this project, we hope that access to proper healthcare services will finally reach many remote and underserved areas in the region,” said KOICA project director Jihwan Jeon.

Expressing his support, Jun Godornes, World Vision Philippines’ interim national director shared, “Quality access to maternal healthcare is very critical to ensure the health of both mother and infant/child. This Policy Forum hopes to safeguard their life and put an end to