USAID Supports Efforts to Improve Family Planning Services in Hospitals
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| USAID Office of Health Director Karen Klimowski signs the commitment wall to show USAID support to the family planning program of the Southern Isabela General Hospital. Also in photo is Dr. Melchor dela Cruz, head of the Ob-Gyne Department of the hospital (Photo:RTI) |
While public hospitals account for the bulk of birth deliveries, they do not usually offer family planning services to the women who deliver at the hospital. The missed opportunity for family planning in public hospitals prompted USAID to support the Department of Health’s (DOH) move to improve family planning services in public hospitals.
In Cagayan Valley Region, first to launch its hospital-based family planning program was the Southern Isabela General Hospital. The hospital mainly serves as a referral facility for long-acting and permanent family planning methods like voluntary sterilization. The hospital caters not only to residents of Santiago City, but also to 12 neighboring towns – 10 in Isabela and one each in the nearby provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya. This translates to more than 78,000 women of reproductive age having access to the hospital’s family planning services.
In Cagayan Valley Region, first to launch its hospital-based family planning program was the Southern Isabela General Hospital. The hospital mainly serves as a referral facility for long-acting and permanent family planning methods like voluntary sterilization. The hospital caters not only to residents of Santiago City, but also to 12 neighboring towns – 10 in Isabela and one each in the nearby provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya. This translates to more than 78,000 women of reproductive age having access to the hospital’s family planning services.
In partnership with the DOH Regional Office for Cagayan Valley, USAID, through its LuzonHealth project implemented by RTI, is assisting the hospital in training its health providers on all modern family planning methods. USAID also helps the hospital in creating an itinerant team to expand the reach of its family planning services, especially among the poor and disadvantaged groups.
