MANILA --The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said that it will work on providing clean toilets and water supply to all healthcare service facilities nationwide.
"This is one of the challenges that we will address with the Universal Healthcare (UHC), we will ensure that primary healthcare services are up to par that they have good quality and that they are manned by equipped staff and competent doctors and nurses and other health workers," Undersecretary Enrique Domingo said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the World Health Day press conference.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released a report which showed that around 23 percent of health care facilities nationwide have unclean toilets, while 4 percent have no toilets at all.
This means three out of ten health care facilities in the country lack clean toilet access, according to the WHO and UNICEF's Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). The report is the first comprehensive global assessment of WASH in health care facilities.
Domingo clarified the health care facilities mentioned in the report are lower level health facilities like barangay stations and rural health units (RHU) in poor and far-flung areas.
"Until this time, we still don't actually license or regulate clinics but for hospitals, we have strict regulations, if you're running primary, secondary, tertiary hospitals and you don't have access to proper sewerage system you will not be licensed," he said.
To date, Domingo said there are around 20,000 health stations and RHUs nationwide.
WHO Philippines representative Gundo Weiler, in a statement, said health facilities without toilets, handwashing facilities and safe water cannot provide quality care to the people.
“The recent water shortage in Metro Manila highlighted the need for long-term solutions to water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities. The Philippines must ensure that safe Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities are available and accessible to ensure health for all Filipinos,” he added.
In March, five Department of Health (DOH) hospitals - Rizal Medical Center, National Center for Mental Health, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and Quirino Memorial Medical Center - experienced water shortage.
In response, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III prompted Manila Water, a water supply concessionaire, to prioritize the supply of water to the five hospitals and limit the number of watchers into one per patient.
"The Department of Health has identified accessibility to WASH in all health care facilities as a priority," Weiler said.
The report also showed that one in four health care facilities around the world lack basic water services, impacting over 2 billion people, and that many health centers still lack sanitation service, basic facilities for hand hygiene and safe segregation and disposal of health care waste.
To ensure that hospitals have sufficient supply of water, Domingo said the DOH has allowed hospitals to use their funds to perform necessary measures.
"Their funds including their income and operating expenses funds to make sure that the water supply is continuous. Red Cross is helping us and the local government units, we were able to control the problem and we've had sufficient water so far and there's no more limit in the number of patients," he added.
Meanwhile, UNICEF Ad Interim Country Representative Julia Rees said both the child and mother are at risk of infection during childbirth at a birthing facility or hospital without sufficient access to WASH.
“Health care workers should be able to practice handwashing with soap and use sterile medical equipment. The healthcare facility should have access to safe water for drinking, handwashing with soap, and to provide access to clean toilets,” she said.
Access to clean toilets is key in preventing infections and reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance and providing quality care, particularly during childbirth, the WHO said.
The WHO and UNICEF noted that over one million deaths each year are associated with unclean births and infections account for 26 percent of neonatal deaths and 11 percent of maternal mortality. (PNA)
