Washington: A Pinoy physician’s name has been included in the first Southeast Asian “120 Under 40” list.
Marvin Masalunga, 27, who was in the United States for a series of training and orientation on reproductive health, is one of the recipients of the 120 Under 40 Campaign of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute, reported Business Mirror.
The project recognizes persons who champion the cause of reproductive health, the report said.
A native of Cavite, Masalunga, whose nomination was initiated and recommended by the Forum for Family Planning and Development, is the only Southeast Asian to receive the citation. He joins nine other selected awardees in a string of talks on ways to improve maternal and child care among locals of their respective countries, said the news portal.
Masalunga will reportedly discuss the state of reproductive health in the Philippines in Baltimore, Maryland. The next sessions will take place in Washington, D.C., and New York, where talks on the use of contraceptives and the future of reproductive health will take place, respectively.
When asked about how he feels with the recognition, he reportedly said, “it’s a validation of what I and our group of rural health workers in Palawan do for the people. Aside from that, it speaks that I am probably doing something right in my service.”
Masalunga works in the district hospital of Coron, Palawan, as the deputy town health officer. In his work, he meets and treats local patients day in and day out, reported Business Mirror.
The latest figures reportedly show that among all the provinces in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region, Palawan has one of the highest maternal mortality rate (MMR)—or the number of women dying due to pregnancy and childbirth complications.
Records from the Provincial Health Office reveal that Palawan’s MMR rose to 182 in 2014, from 125 MMR per 100,000 live births in 2012, the report said.
