Address current health woes or face public health crisis soon, gov’t warned

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines could face a public health crisis in the coming years if the government fails to address the country’s current  “multiple health emergencies,” Senator Risa Hontiveros warned on Monday.

Hontiveros raised the dire possibility as she backed the proposal of the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) to declare a national emergency over the rising number of teenage pregnancies in the country.

“It’s (rise in teenage pregnancies) actually one of several health emergencies we’re in right now, we’re in the middle of multiple health emergencies,” Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

She warned that should these health emergencies remain unsolved, the Philippines could face a “public health crisis” in the coming years.

“Isang comprehensive prescription, isang pakete ng mga solusyon. Otherwise, ‘pag hindi natin tinugunan, pag hindi natin naagapan itong multiple health emergencies we’re in the middle of right now, in several years we could be faced  with a public health crisis,” she added.

(A comprehensive prescription, a packet of solutions (is needed). Otherwise, if we do not address these multiple health emergencies we’re in the middle of right now, in several years we could be faced with a public health crisis).

Aside from the rise in the number of teenage pregnancies in the Philippines, Hontiveros noted that the country has also faced a dengue epidemic, a measles outbreak, the resurgence of polio and a decline in vaccination rates.

READ: DOH declares national dengue epidemic 

READ: Factors behind polio, measles outbreak cited 

She also noted that the country has been reported to have the highest increase in HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region. /gsg

READ: HIV spread fastest in PH – study 

She stressed that a “comprehensive package of solutions” should be put in place to adequately address the issue. /gsg