The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aims to achieve the 17 global goals designed and assembled by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. This is part of Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly. It is a blueprint to achieve having a better place and future for everyone.
One of the goals includes good health and well-being of all individuals. As per the UN, they aim to prevent child deaths by making big strides to drop by more than half, and maternal mortality went down by almost as much.
With this, one youth group in the Philippines was created, which aims to promote maternal health through Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign strategies and to disseminate knowledge about folic acid awareness, newborn screening, and rare diseases among children.
The Volunteer Youth Leaders for Health-Philippines (VYLH-Philippines) is a national group organization supports the campaign on reproductive and maternal health. The said organization serves as a linkage for all leaders and members from different organizations based in schools, colleges, and universities all over the country as well as in the local communities who will be part of this advocacy.
Members of the youth believe in the binding principles. These are through the spirit of leadership, commitment, advocacy, and voluntarism, which serve as important factors in shaping each representative a role model of his or her society.
Their principle includes youths’ involvement as they build unrelenting commitment to humanitarian endeavor that benefits the general public, which is the most important thing in an organization.
Passion=Pass It On
Almost 1/3 of the Philippine Population consists of youth ages 15-30. With this, VYLH-Philippines primarily targets students, leaders, and other youth volunteers to involve them and make a change through participatory communication.
According to Ms. Marian Theresa Cuenca, VYLH-NCR South Luzon Cluster Secretariat based in UP Manila, “the youth have a crucial role in shaping the future of our country. They are proven to have the energy to influence hence they are also catalysts of change.” Ms. Cuenca also said that the youth must know the importance of servant leadership that might find worthy for them and for others. And that is why they have to maximize their energy to empower others.
First step
Through the existence of March of Dimes-Global Network for Maternal and Infant Health (MOD-GNMIH) – an internationally-recognized system that encourages youths to participate for the improvement of birth outcomes worldwide, the VYLH-Philippines was created and inspired some pioneers to take the lead for better maternal health in the country.
MOD-GNMIH already raised the spirits of voluntarism of some youths particularly in China, Brazil, Lebanon, and India, thus VYLH-Philippines have enough reasons to share the burning passion for Filipino youths to become members of the said organization.
During the first National Youth Camp in Tagaytay Dacha Hotel, Tagaytay City last July 17-19, 2009, VYLH-Philippines was formally created. The said camp included the planning workshop to officially lay down the rules, principles, objectives, and conditions on how the said organization will run before the next camp. The said event was the result of the collaborative efforts exerted by the Institute of Human Genetics of the National Institutes of Health- University of the Philippines-Manila, Department of Health and the University of the Philippines Los Banos Genetics Society.
A total of 73 participants from different provinces in the country joined the first-ever national camp. Most of the participants are representative of their university-based, community-based, and other affiliated organizations that became part of the said event. As expected to happen thereafter, the “Pioneer” batch spread immediately the ideas and key concepts of the organization and its advocacies towards better health.
Based on the shortlist of events created after the first camp were posting Newborn screening posters including giving of brochures to different universities across the country, making symposia and fora conducted about rare diseases by different schools for their respected communities and holding a folic acid campaign and other health issues programs for a specific audience.
Widening the riffle effect
Because of the efforts made by the pioneers to inform and educate the fellows about an effective healthy society, a new breed of volunteers arose after a year to continue the burning passion of serving the nation. This batch named “K4” (basically mean “Kabataan Kabalikat ng Kalusugan para sa Kinabukasan”). A total of 116 participants attended the island-wide camps from three major islands of the country. The second camp served as a new venue for pioneers to develop more their critical thinking and leadership skills, as well as for the new volunteers to learn the basics of health campaigns and promotion.
After two years of continuing promotion of Folic Acid awareness, Newborn Screening, and Rare diseases campaign, the Second National Leadership Congress was held at the Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park, Kawit, Cavite last June 02-04. Despite a more challenging tasks of the last Executive Committee of bringing into one area for a specific time and eschewing the diversity and cultural differences but unity for better health, the number of participants who will serve as new volunteers boost from 116 to 294 overall, with 105 members of the newest batch named “I3” (Inform, Inspire, Involve).
The training and workshop helped the I3 batch learned new techniques and ways on how to communicate the messages in the community. Keynote speakers who shared their thoughts, ideas, and views about proper health and delivery include Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan- a Professor in the UP College of Medicine and practitioner of different health planning and programming; Dr. Anthony Calibo- Supervising Health Program Officer for Essential Newborn Care at the Department of Health, Mr. Luigi Mapa- a licensed facilitator and consultant, and Dr. Anthony Cordero-Associate Professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the UP College of Medicine. The seminars were under the supervision of the VYLH National Adviser Dr. Carmencita David-Padilla.
The message
It is expected that every organization whether university or community-based must deliver clearly the message on maternal health, in order to understand by the target audience the relevance of maternal health.
VYLH-Philippines focuses mainly on three major aspects of newborn processes: These include the importance of Folic Acid supplementation on every individual in the reproductive age (age of development) especially women to prevent having birth defects; the relevance of newborn screening to save babies from mental retardation and death; the commitment in presenting the serious topic about rare diseases. Everyone is encouraged to understand these issues.
The three main topics help each family and all individuals in different communities understand the importance of folic acid, the knowhow of newborn screening, and support individuals who have rare diseases.
Ms. Cuenca also explained, “Remember that our country’s future is in our hands. Keep the fire burning… just make things happen.”
VYLH-Philippines symbolizes the spirit of letting youth to make a difference. As the new generation of the “mga bagong pag asa ng bayan” the said organization intensifies its commitment to serve the nation through healthy living and a better society. Just like what US President Obama said for the youth, “Focusing your life solely on making buck shows a certain purely of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it is only when you hitch the wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.”
