PART II: NGOs ROLE IN HEALTH AWARENESS
GOITER AWARENESS WEEK
Jan 17-24, 2009
Goiter and other manifestations of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) are a matter
of national concern which cannot be left to one governmental agency or one professional
organization to take care of. A coordinated approach from as many stakeholders as there
are is needed if IDD can ever be eliminated. A widespread information and educational
effort is felt needed to dramatize the effects of goiter and IDD in the health of people
afflicted with them.
The Department of Health together with partner agencies and some medical
societies involved in thyroid diseases worked for the issuance of Presidential
Proclamation 1188 on December 11, 2006 declaring every 4th week of January as Goiter
Awareness Week. The first Goiter Awareness Week (GAW) celebration was held in
conjunction with the 8th Congress of the Asia-Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA) in
2007 which the Philippines hosted for the first time.
Realizing the seriousness and magnitude of the problem of IDD in the Philippines,
a number of medical societies, governmental & non-governmental organizations,
professional associations, salt industry and international agencies have come together and
formed the Philippine Thyroid Council. This national coalition of those involved in the
fight against goiter and IDD was established during the 2nd national celebration of the
Goiter Awareness Week in 2008. With a consolidated front, the national coalition takes on
the fight against goiter and other IDDs on a higher level and with new momentum.
This year, we are celebrating the 3rd Goiter Awareness Week focused on thyroid
and pregnancy with the theme: “Isip at Talino ng anak nakasalalay sa Thyroid ni Nanay”
Launching of which will be held in conjunction with the Annual Convention of the
Philippine Thyroid Association on January 17, 2009 at the Century Park Hotel. A
Symposium on Thyroid and Pregnancy will follow in the afternoon.
PARAÑAQUE TAKES PART IN DEAF AWARENESS WEEK
November 18, 2008
The different members of the Metro Manila Federation of Agencies for the Deaf
MMFAD (South) composed of public and private school for the deaf and government
agencies came together in Parañaque City to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week with this
year's theme “Ano DEW Deaf Ako? Walang Hadlang!”
The celebration opens with an early morning motorcade from Sucat to the
Parañaque City Hall, where the participants used balloons and streamers to air their
sentiments regarding equality and recognition as members of society.
After a flag raising ceremony at the Parañaque City Hall Quadrangle, the
participants proceeded to the San Antonio Gym where a mass, which was hosted by the
Sisters of the Little Mission for the Deaf was held followed by the program proper.
Parañaque Social Welfare Head, Dean Calleja, who welcomed all the participants called
on government officials to advocate the implementation of existing laws and if necessary
enact new ordinances that will protect the rights of people with disabilities.
Froilan Maglaya of DSWD-NCR who oriented the participants about the PWD
(People With Disability) I.D. System echoed the same sentiment. According to him
persons with disabilities (PWD's) needs are not considered as priority among Local
Government Units.
He said that government should establish an OPDA (Office of the Persons With
Disability Affairs) in the eleven LGU's of NCR.
Among the other issues tackled during the program are the limited implementation
of program and projects for persons with disabilities, no funding and allocation from
LGU's for PWDs and the gaps in the implementation of Magna Carta for Disabled Person
RA 7277.
One of the provisions of the Magna Carta is the Equal Opportunity for
Employment wherein Five percent (5%) of all casual, emergency and contractual
positions in the Department of Social Welfare and Development; Health; Education,
Culture and Sports; and other government agencies, offices or corporations engaged in
social development shall be reserved for disabled persons.
In Proclamation No. 889, former Philippine President Corazon Aquino declared
November 10-16 of every year as Deaf Awareness Week.
The participants for this year's celebration of the Deaf Awareness Week are
DSWD Paranaque, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas; Joseph Gualandi School for Hearing Impaired
Inc.; Sisters of the Little Mission for the Deaf, St Augustine School for the Deaf; Kamay
at Boses Pilipinas; St. Francis de la Salle Hearing Impaired Foundation Inc. and Medical
Electronics among others.
Kamay and Boses Pilipinas is a non-government organization patterned after the
US-based Hands and Voices America, a foundation working for the welfare of deaf-mute
children.
Points on Women and Children

Addressing women and children concerns was given premium in the area of law
enforcement and community relations by the PNP ever since the National Police
Commission issued a Memorandum Circular Number 92-010, which paved the
way to the establishment of the Child and Youth Relations Section (CYRS) in
highly urbanized cities, including Metro Manila, and the designation of Child and
Youth Relations Officer in other police stations nationwide.

Aware of the alarming number of the victimization of children and young women
due to sexual exploitation which resulted in the enactment of RA 7610 (Special
Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act),
the PNP forged a working partnership with other concerned government agencies,
particularly the Social Welfare and Justice departments as well as non-government
organizations to raise the consciousness of the police force about the rights of
women and children and the necessary police intervention for the protection of
these rights, especially from exploitation, harm and danger.

The first Women’s Desk in Quezon City police departments was established in
1993. Title VII of RA 8551, otherwise known as the PNP Reform and
Reorganization Act of 1998, amplified the institutionalization of the Management
of Cases of Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances which contains certain
procedures in the handling of children’s cases.

A major project that is now underway is the establishment of the PNP Women’s
Crisis and Child Protection Center based in Camp Crame which will place “under
one roof” the disciplines involved in the treatment of children and women victims
of violence and abuse. This project was jointly initiated by the PNP, the
Philippine General Hospital, and the Advisory Board Foundation, a Washingtonbased NGO which is closely working with the PGH in the area of child abuse
treatment.

Another classic example of strong police-community partnership towards
addressing the plight of women and children victims of violence was the
establishment of the SAGIP (Saklolohan at Gabayan ang Ina at Pamilya or Help
and Guide Mothers and Family) Center, a place in Muntinlupa City where victims
of domestic violence, particularly physical and sexual abuses among women and
children, are taken cared of by a working staff composed of physicians,
psychiatrists, social workers and police officers rendering 24-Women’s (and
Children’s) Desk in all police stations with the mandate to administer and handle
cases involving women and children victims of gender-based crimes, particularly
all forms of abuse and violence.

The structural make-up of the Women and Children’s Desk was concretized by
the activation of the Women and Children Concerns Division (WCCD) under the
Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR) following the issuance of
PNP Memorandum Circular Number 97-001 dated September 1997.

Regarded as a best practice model in Asia and America, there are a total of 1,490
Women and Children’s Desk in almost 100% of all police stations established
nationwide.

The Philippine Legislature has also enacted several laws seeking to protect and
empower women and children:
o R.A. 9344 (The Juvenile Justice And Welfare Act of 2006)
o R.A. 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of
2004)
o R.A. 9208 (An Act to Institute Policies to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons
Especially Women and Children
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment

The Philippine Legislature has passed REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8504 or “An Act
Promulgating Policies and Prescribing Measures for the Prevention and Control of
HIV/AIDS in the Philippines, Instituting a Nationwide HIV/AIDS Information and
Education Program, Establishing a Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Monitoring
System, strengthening the Philippine National AIDS Council, and For Other
Purposes.”

Delegates from the National Young Persons Planning Forum (NYPPF) held at the
Ateneo De Manila University are batting for bigger youth involvement in the HIV
and AIDS prevention campaign with Peer Counseling surfacing as a favorite
strategy against the problem. The event was sponsored by the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with the Council for the Welfare of
Children-Committee on Children and HIV and AIDS (CWC-CCHIV) and the
Lunduyan Foundation, Inc. It is the newest venue for exchanging experiences
among youths who are involved in the HIV and AIDS prevention advocacy.

The Save the Children Foundation is pushing for an extensive discussion of HIV
in classrooms and communities so students and out of school youths can fully
grasp the threats of the disease. The Aklan Provincial AIDS Council is also
working for stronger linkages among government, NGOs and faith-based
organizations to make the HIV and AIDS program work.

Based on the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry, there are 481 recorded youths
that are HIV/AIDS positive from 1984 to October 2008. This is 14 percent of the
country's total HIV/AIDS cases that belong to the 15 - 24 age brackets. The
registry also reported that sexual contact is still the leading mode of transmission
of the virus.

The emerging trend of risky behaviors among the youth has made UNICEF
concerned because the persons involved are getting younger and younger. Some
are around 16 years of age or even younger, and most acquire the virus due to
illegal child trafficking and prostitution.

UNICEF 's global campaign on children and HIV is focused on 4 interventions
known as the four Ps: (1) Prevent Mother to Child Transmission of HIV by
increasing the voluntary testing and counseling, access to drugs that reduces
infection rates in newborns and treatment for the infected women; (2) Pediatric
Treatment by making anti-retrovirals (ARV) available to keep children alive and
other drugs including cotrimoxazole that prevents opportunistic infections in HIVinfected children; (3) Protect, Support and Care for all affected children by
encouraging governments to ensure HIV and AIDS affected children get the
essential services including education; and (4) Prevent HIV and STI infection in
children and adolescents through youth friendly awareness campaign to help
young people protect themselves.

The Philippine National Aids Council, together with the Department of Health,
and supported by UNAIDS, the HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment arm of the
United Nations, has come up with the 4th AIDS Medium Term Plan for the
Philippines for the years 2005-2010, which aims to battle HIV/AIDS and seeks its
prevention and treatment.

“Although the Philippines remains to be a low-prevalence country in HIV/AIDS, it
should not be a reason to be complacent as statistics and trends show that the
number of those infected are on the rise,” according to Health secretary Duque at
the opening of the Second Regional Consultative Meeting on Universal Access to
Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support in Low-Prevalence Countries on
HIV/AIDS, to which the country belongs. He said that in previous years, an
average of 20 cases of HIV/AIDS were reported each month, but the number rose
to close to 30 starting 2007.
Role of Media and Business in Social Responsibility

The Araw Values Advertising Awards is a biennial competition of the Advertising
Foundation of the Philippines. It recognizes the best values-oriented advertising
that highlights social responsibility in the Philippine advertising and marketing
communications industries. The Araw Values Awards honors the best creative
works that shine the ideals and goals of national development, peace and progress.

“A special responsibility for the proper use of the means of social communication
rests on journalists, writers, actors, designers, producers, exhibitors, distributors,
operators, sellers, critics—all those, in a word, who are involved in the making and
transmission of communications in any way whatever. It is clear that a very great
responsibility rests on all these people in today’s world. They have power to direct
mankind along a good path or an evil path by the information they impart and the
pressure they exert.” (Benjamin G. Defensor of the Manila Times)

The Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) pays tribute to the outstanding
individuals whose works embody the enhancement of the total human
development of the Filipino audience through the competent and professional use
of mass media techniques. The CMMA stress that media must always convey the
truth and veer away from false criticism contrary it. The CMMA was organized in
1978 by the Archdiocese of Manila in observance of the International Social
Communications Day. Recognition was initially given in the fields of Press,
Television, Radio, and Film. Advertising was a separate category included in
1979, and through the years, works in other forms of media such as the Internet
were also recognized.

Schools such as the Dela Salle University Graduate School have established the
Center for Social Responsibility for Human Development and the Professional
Development Center with the motto: “Because Human Development is the Social
Responsibility of Business.” This only goes to show that the education sector
acknowledges the integral role their Business Graduate will play in developing
Philippine Society.

A group of Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) Franchisors under the banner of
Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (Affi) gave their most valuable resource,
time, to mentoring college students in their association’s expertise which is
entrepreneurship. This is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) without money,
and without necessarily forming a foundation.

The League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) have launched the CSR Institute
during its Annual Expo last July 16 to 18, 2007 at the Hotel Sofitel Philippine
Plaza. The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) also launched the
CSR Awards at the same event in a joint meeting with the Makati Business Club
and the LCF during the Luncheon Plenary last July 16, 2007.

Promoting Mutual Assistance Among Corporate Foundations in ASEAN” was one
of the pre-conference workshops of the Asian Forum on Corporate Social
Responsibility, which was held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel,
Singapore last 19 November 2008. The participants came from various ASEANbased corporate foundations and non-profit organizations.