LAMITAN CITY–Before the sun rises in the village of Malo-ong San Jose, Fe Alingco, 70, is already up, preparing her tools for another full day.
Only 4 feet 4 inches tall, Alingco is nonetheless a towering figure in this village of 2,068 residents who entrust their health to her. Since she started volunteer work as a maternal health care worker in 1976, Alingco has been assisting women in childbirth and ministering to the sick in the village. Aside from treating sprains, fever, animal bites, and assorted aches and pains, she also helps in having the births registered.
Like Alingco, Embong Ballaho, 67, starts her day by inspecting her health kit, making sure everything is clean and disinfected, and her supplies replenished before she reports to the health station of Maganda village.
Although now hearing impaired, Ballaho continues to look after the health needs of the 6,692 villagers in keeping with family tradition. Ballaho’s mother trained her to be a “panday” or traditional healer after she graduated from high school. She helps mothers have an easier delivery by massaging them and offering herbal treatment.
In 1987, she had an uneasy transition to the modern ways of wellness when she was drafted to be a barangay health worker (BHW).
When the late Rosita Furigay, a pharmacist, succeeded her husband as town mayor in 2013, access to health services became a cornerstone of her governance. To compensate for the sixth class city’s lack of health professionals, Furigay spruced up the network of BHWs throughout the 45 villages, and tapped into the pool of traditional healers like Alingco and Ballaho.
Pioneer volunteers
According to Lilibeth Mata, president of Lamitan’s association of BHWs, since 1985, the healthcare volunteers have “committed their precious time working under the heat of the sun or punishing rain” with no fixed fee, not even an allowance.
“We don’t even have insurance (coverage) should we get sick or meet an accident,” Mata said, adding that their main reward is the people’s expression of gratitude or small tokens of appreciation.
When Furigay’s husband, Roderick, first became mayor in 2004, he gave each BHW a monthly allowance of P500 which his wife later increased to P1,500, and supplemented with health insurance and other incentives.
Some 200 traditional healers and volunteers who were recruited as BHWs were then trained in maternal health and childcare services in accordance with Department of Health (DOH) standards, and graduated as skilled birth attendants.
Alingco recalled how the late mayor regularly sat down with the BHWs to hear updates and stories on their patients. “Hearing (that) no one was getting ill made her feel happy and accomplished. She made sure that no one died from lack of medical attention,” she said, adding that she herself received assistance from the local government when she got ill in 2015.
No politics
Dubbed the “Yellow Army,” these community volunteers have become the backbone of Lamitan’s health care system. “It’s not a political group, the color (is) intended to highlight the presence of our health attendants in the community, like sunshine or light (shining on) every household,” Mata explained.
Despite having a population of 100,150– according to a 2020 census– Lamitan’s main medical facility is a 25-bed government hospital complemented by three private clinics and two lying-in clinics. There is only one doctor for every 34,000 individuals, way below the DOH standard of one for every 20,000.
“Without the barangay health workers, we cannot accomplish that much. It would be like having a head without arms and legs,” said city health officer Dr. Afreen Amerin, of the total health personnel of 80.
“The barangay health workers complement (our team especially in) areas we cannot reach. And they have all-around skills; they can (even) be sanitary inspectors,” Amerin said.
The BHW have been so dedicated to their job that Lamitan has not recorded any death from childbirth since 2016, the city health officer said. “We’d be in shock if we register even one death,” Amerin said. It helps a lot that some women in their locality preferred home births, although today, the “panday” delivers babies in the presence of trained health workers.
The pandemic too tested the mettle of the BHWs who helped carry out a massive education campaign on COVID-19, and saw to it that prescribed measures were followed to prevent the spread of the virus. They also checked for any sign of infection among those returning to the city.
“It was my first time to use a personal protective equipment,” said Alingco. “It was hot, but we had to endure (the inconvenience) so we could go on with our house-to-house visits.” INQ