New midwives for the Philippines
Posted: 2 December 2011 by Rob Dabrowski
A thousand trainee midwives are set to be recruited and deployed across the Philippines, it has been announced.
Health secretary Enrique Ona revealed the news and said there will also be 11,500 trainee nurses deployed.
He said the move is part of the government’s commitment to address inequities in access to health services, which particularly affect the poor.
The 1000 midwives will be sent to rural communities where maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates are high.
The health secretary said: ‘We recognise the importance of the availability of competent health workers in our hospitals and communities in improving the quality of health services for our countrymen.’
Along with their pay, the midwives will receive additional assistance in the form of accommodation, insurance and meals.
The posts last one year, after which those who successfully complete the program will be considered for full-time employment by the government.
