MANILA, Philippines — Some 67 health facilities, including hospitals and treatment and rehabilitation centers, were damaged by Super Typhoon Rolly that recently slammed into the country, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.
In an online briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that of the damaged health facilities, six are DOH-hospitals and treatment and rehabilitation centers while three are local government hospitals.
Also damaged were 15 rural health units (RHUs) and 39 barangay-health stations (BHSs) in the Bicol region, and two RHUs and two BHSs in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) region.
Aside from these, Vergeire said 30 temporary treatment and monitoring facilities were also damaged by Rolly in the Bicol region. Eight of these are in Albay, 17 in Camarines Sur, and five in Camarines Norte.
“Patuloy na nagbibigay tayo ng tulong sa mga apektadong lugar upan mas masigurado natin na maging ligtas sila in the coming days. Also we’d like to ensure na mayroon silang mga logistics,” Vergeire said.
(We are continuously providing help for the affected areas so we can ensure that they are safe in the coming days. Also, we’d like to ensure that they have enough logistics.)
“Continuous ang ating assistance at ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa kanila para maiayos na natin ang kanilang health system which was affected by Typhoon Rolly,” she added.
(Our assistance and coordination with them are continuous so we can fix their health system which was affected by Typhoon Rolly.)
Rolly, a Category 5 typhoon, ravaged parts of the Philippines, leaving at least 20 dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Following the typhoon, several countries and organizations have also pledged donations and assistance to help victims of the storm.
This includes countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.