More often than not, we do not fully realize the different issues in the Philippine health care system because it is masked with what we see in the developed parts of our country. The sad reality is that inequities exist and it is growing at an alarming rate, leading to poor health outcomes and affecting the poorest of our people. It's about time that we look BEYOND the statistics and listen to their stories.
HEAL the RP.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
The Philippines is home to 110 IP tribes. One of them, the Aetas/Aytas, are known to be the earliest inhabitants in the country. It’s members number about 140,591 individuals. This group usually dwells in the pockets of mountains, mostly in the central part of Luzon. They are tribal in character, thus they confine themselves to a very limited world of their own.
The ideal state of health is a remote concept for the Aeta community. Studies show that there are social, political and economic barriers restraining them from achieving health:
1) Household income among members of this community averages approximately US $1 to $2 a day for a family of five. A day’s wage is spent almost instantaneously to sustain their most basic human needs, making them vulnerable to shocks due to their lack of financial safety nets.
2) The inaccessibility of government services act as a barrier that restricts the Aetas from enjoying their fundamental right to health. This is mainly due to the distance of the facilities from the community, the lack of safe roads and adequate means of transportation.
3) The culture of discrimination is another social obstacle for the tribe. They are left unattended, inappropriately treated, or were driven away altogether despite the severity of their health condition.
Given these circumstances and barriers to attain a healthy Aeta community, members of their tribe have been experiencing an overall sense of helplessness over their seemingly hopeless state of deprivation.
Should they forever be Hopeless and Helpless?
sources and credits: a) Health Inequity and Social Injustice for the Aytas in the Philippines: Critical Psycholgy in Action (Estacio and Marks, 2007) b) http://www.ncip.gov.ph/ethno_groupdetail.php?id=82 c) http://www.flickr.com/photos/denbote/3006246167/
