Health is a fundamental human right. Sadly, for millions of Filipinos living in extreme poverty, this is simply not the case. According to the Department of Health, half of Filipinos do not have access to primary health care.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 44 community health workers for every 10,000 people. However, based on Philippine government data, there are only 16 health care workers per 10,000 people in the Western Visayas Region, and only 9 per 10,000 in parts of the Mindanao Region, where the incidence of poverty is the highest in the country.
Families living in ultra-poverty face a host of deprivations—many of which result to high incidence of diseases and even deaths. Among ICM recipients, our data shows that 64% of these families live in over-crowded, unsafe, and unsanitary homes and 43% experience frequent illness due to unclean water. All of them have little to no access to a health facility or a health worker.
ICM endeavors to bridge the gap of inadequate access to healthcare primarily in ultra-poor communities through the implementation of its Community Health Champions (CHC).
CHCs are trained health advocates who bring healthcare to the doorstep of families in extreme poverty prioritizing areas where the need is greatest and where access to this is almost impossible due to geographical isolation and lack of resources.
During home visits, CHCs use a mobile app to help track each person’s health journey. They examine family members for health issues that may need further treatment by a health professional; they screen children for malnutrition and pregnant women for maternal issues; and administer deworming medicines and vitamins. CHCs also encourage families to practice better healthcare and hygiene.
ICM has a network of 1,265 active Community Health Champions that serve 109,045 unique individuals, 41,152 of whom are children under 13 of age.