The provincial government here has recently completed the repair and renovation of the Pacuan Community Primary Hospital in La Libertad, Negros Oriental in preparation for the installation of its Barangay Emergency Maternal, Obstetrical and Neo-natal Care (BEMONC) facility. 

 

The repair and renovation costing P1 million was funded by a grant from the European Commission through the province’s five-year Provincewide Investment Plan for Health from 2006 to 2011, said Capitol Information Officer Adrian Sedillo. 

“The renovation is in line with the forthcoming installation of a BEMOC facility there, which costs around P6 million,” said Sedillo. 

 

Said facility is seen to boost the hospital’s delivery of maternal health services in the area, a move aimed at reducing the incidence of infant and maternal mortality in the province, he added. 

 

Bringing down the cases of infant and maternal deaths is one of the targets underlined by the Millennium Development Goals, which the Philippines signed up to achieve before the 2015 deadline.  

 

The provincial government under Gov. Roel Degamo has instituted measures to achieve said goal, one of which is equipping local hospitals with the appropriate facilities for the effective delivery of medical care services for pregnant women. 

 

Assistant Provincial Health Officer Ed Barredo noted that there has been a drop in the infant and maternal mortality rates in Negros Oriental in the last three years. But it would be better to bring it down to a zero incidence rate, Sedillo qouted Barredo as saying. 

 

Data provided by the Capitol show there were 29 women in the province who died during childbirth in 2009 and 23 last year. 

 

Health officials pegged at 12 the number of maternal mortality cases this year. 

 

La Libertad’s Pacuan Community Primary Hospital is one of the six community primary hospitals in Negros Oriental, the rest of which are each located in Bayawan City, Sta. Catalina, Ayungon, Mabinay and Guihulngan City. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)