HEALTHCARE

Immersion Activity
Brgy. Acacia, Buhangin, Davao City
March 14, 2015
A basic fundamental human right and elemental l to life, health, and dignity is access
to water and sanitation. Given the vulnerability of the situation of some uprooted people,
well-timed and sufficient provision of clean water and sanitation services is particularly
important. The UN or United Nations believes that all refugees, asylum seekers,
internally displaced people and returnees should have access to adequate drinking
water whether they stay in camps or in urban areas. (ECOSOC, 2002)
Yet, each year, many children are still in the statistics of being sick or hospitalized
due to illnesses brought about by merely improper hygiene. Lack of education or by,
unfortunately, lack of care by parents or immediate families are among the reasons
children suffer water borne diseases, worm infestation, and pneumonia, the leading
disease among a few. Children five years old and below are among the leading age
groups that are usually the targets of being victims to such diseases. For what should
be fruitful years to the children would be hampered by illnesses brought about by
poverty, indifference, or ignorance.
In an issue released in early 2013 of which was collected in 2011, the latest
estimates of the WHO (World Health Organization)/UNICEF (United Nations
International Childrens Emergency Fund) Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply
and Sanitation (JMP), 36 per cent of the worlds population 2.5 billion people lack
improved sanitation facilities, and 768 million people still use unsafe drinking water
sources. Insufficiency to access of safe water and sanitation services, along with poor
hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day. This leads to
disadvantaged and tapered opportunities for thousands more. Poor sanitation, water
and hygiene have many other serious repercussions. The children and markedly girls
are denied their right to education because their schools lack private and decent
sanitation facilities. As the women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching
water, poor farmers and wage earners on the other hand are less productive due to

illness, health systems are overwhelmed and national economies suffer. Without WASH
(water, sanitation and hygiene), sustainable development is impossible.
To improve water supplies and sanitation facilities in schools and communities,
UNICEF operates in more than 100 countries worldwide. The organization also works to
promote safe hygiene practices by sponsoring a widespread scope of activities and by
working with many partners, involving families, communities, government, and fitting
organizations. To contribute to the Millennium Development Goal, all of UNICEF WASH
programs were designed for water and sanitation. The goal was, that by 2015, is to cut
in half the fraction of people deficient of sustainable access to safe water. Even if it has
already been achieved globally, still, the same target for sanitation is so far off course
that it is improbable to be met by 2015.
In India, among the commonest health problems found in schoolchildren, according
to findings of the states economic survey for 2013 14 are dental defects, worms, night
blindness, skin and eye ailments. According to a school health expert from the state
health department that the biggest cause for the increasing health problems among
children is poor personal hygiene. Most schoolchildren in rural interiors of the state have
very low awareness about personal cleanliness. This takes a toll on their health over a
period of time. Skin and oral health are worst affected by poor cleanliness not to
mention lack of nutrition that aggravates these problems.
A deficiency in Vitamin A causes night blindness, commonly seen in underprivileged
urban and rural children. This deficiency may also cause serious eye problems like
permanent loss of vision. The government further has implemented Vitamin A
administration programme for children from six months to five years. On the other hand
in urban population, it was found that the highest incidence of dental caries is due to
unhygienic habits and poor personal cleanliness like neglecting regular brushing and
rinsing, according to a senior paediatrician. (Navarange, 2014) Jayant Navarange.
An analysis of health indicators from the pre-school, primary, secondary and senior
secondary levels shows that under nutrition and communicable diseases are major
health

problems

faced

by

majority

of

the

children

in

the

country.

The access to basic necessities like food, safe water supply, housing, and sanitation
and health services influences the health status. Therefore, health is a critical input for
the overall development of the child since it significantly influences enrolment, retention
and completion of school. The aim of the school health programme is to make children
healthy so that they could concentrate more on studies. They will also learn the
importance of hygiene, nutritious and balanced diet and learn healthy habits like
washing hands before eating. (Agarkhedkar, 2014)
In our country, as according to UNICEF Philippines, schools in poor communities in
the Philippines are the least served. A 2010 survey by the Department of Education
(DepED) estimates that more than 7,000 primary schools have no steady water source
and more than 90,000 school toilets need to be constructed to meet the basic standard.
Poor WASH conditions lead to diarrhea, one of the major causes of deaths among
children below five years old. A long-term exposure to unsanitary environments can also
cause stunting, leading to very poor educational outcomes. Intestinal worm infection
rates in the Philippines go up to as high as 67 per centhigher than most countries in
Southeast Asia.
Based on the 2011 WASH Situation Analysis (UNICEF), the three areas that hamper
the progress of WASH are inadequate access to WASH services and products; poor
hygiene practices and low demand for WASH services; and a weak enabling
environment. The first phase of the WASH programme demonstrates increased
household demand for WASH services, increasing access to these services and
improving hygiene practices. The second phase focuses on advocacy, support, and
sharing

of

resources

to

sustainably

scale

up

successful

approaches.

As 90 percent of Filipino households dont practice proper toilet hygiene and

sanitation leading to diarrhea the worlds fourth leading cause of death in children under
5 years old, and also worms, pneumonia and other water-borne diseases. Thus, hand
washing is the simplest form of improving your health. We know we have to wash our
hands before and after eating, or after using the toilet. But why are we not practicing it?
It is because it has never been translated into a habit. (Macapagal, 2014)

Hence, Unilever Philippines, with the Philippine Public Health Association and United
Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (Unicef), launched the 1 Million Clean
Toilets Movement late last year. The movement aims to have 1 million clean toilets on
World Toilet Day on Nov. 19, 2014. The movement has three objectives: create
awareness of proper toilet hygiene and sanitation; educate people on the proper way of
cleaning their toilets, and reduce the incidence of diseases related to unsanitary toilet
practices. To support the movement, the public is encouraged to visit the Domex
Philippines Facebook page, and click on the app to pledge their support. For every
pledge, Unilever will donate P5 to the Unicef sanitation program. Another 5 percent of
the proceeds from purchased Domex. (Jambora, 2014)
The chosen community for our immersion in our OSSE subject is Barangay Acacia,
Buhangin, Davao City. The specific clients for our activity are the students of the said
barangay. As per physical assessment of the childrens, hygiene is the primary target for
our discussion as the children live in a rural-urban area of the city where they frolic and
frequent playing in open grounds which means exposure to soil. Added to that is the
proximity of their residence which is along the main road. So, the children are often
subjected also to everyday pollution like smoke and dust. Hence, the main issues for
discussion in Healthcare are: practicing dental hygiene, bathing, hand washing, nail
cutting, and eliminating head lice.
As a token of our appreciation, we gave basic hygiene kits that the children can use
with the emphasis that they practice every day what we have discussed during our
activity so that in time, they can make it as a habit.
Reference:

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), 2012.

Navarange, Jayant, TNN, 2014, www.google.com
Agarkhedkar, Sharad, TNN, 2014, www.google.com
Jambora, Anne A., @inquirerdotnet, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 15, 2014.