Twenty-seven-year-old Dr. Marvin Masalunga is in the United States for a series of training and orientation on reproductive health.
Masalunga works in the district hospital of Coron, Palawan as a deputy municipal health officer. In his work, he meets and treats local patients day in and day out.
He 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. This project recognizes persons who champion reproductive health. A native of Cavite, Masalunga, whose nomination was initiated and recommended by the Forum for Family Planning and Development, is the only Southeast Asian individual to receive the citation. He joins nine other awardees who will discuss ways to improve maternal and child care among locals of their respective countries.
Masalunga will discuss about 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 be given, respectively.
When asked about how he feels with the recognition, he says “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.”
The latest figures show that among all the provinces in the Mimaropa region, Palawan has one of the highest maternal mortality rate—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.
While the municipality of Coron is one of the popular tourist spots in Northern Palawan with its pristine waters and captivating landscapes, little do most people know about the plethora of health issues that beset its locals, especially the women and the youth.
“Some areas don’t even have electricity and access to health facilities. Tara, the farthest barangay, can be reached from Coron via a three-hour boat ride.” Masalunga shared.
Teenage pregnancies, aside from risky and complicated ones, are also health issues that need to be addressed in Coron. According to Masalunga, “one out of 10 pregnant women in the municipality are teenagers.”
Aside from regular medical assistance, Masalunga and his team of rural health workers in Coron carry out talks on the importance of reproductive health and family planning. Just last year, they helped organized the ‘Buntis Congress’ that gathered expectant mothers together for discussions, and counseling as well as provision of free health services such as laboratory, pre-natal checkup, and ultrasound.
Masalunga also led talks among the youth, especially to members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Through these proactive efforts, Coron’s medical team is seeing improvements in providing maternal and child care among locals. According to Masalunga, “80 percent of our woman now give birth in the hospital, and are assisted by a health care provider and a midwife. This is a good number because we are really pushing for facility-based delivery services, and not just in the home, where the lack of me-dical resources puts the mother and the child’s life on the line.”
It was during one of the RH orientations that Masalunga met several members of the Forum for Family Planning and Development.
In talks about pushing for the full implementation of reproductive health, Masalunga says we are facing a huge battle in the form of religious and cultural beliefs.
Masalunga asserts that reproductive health is not just about promoting the use of contraceptives, nor does it recommend abortion. Rather, it emphasizes the need for couples to space births and plan for their family— as doing so means planning for the future of their children.
This young doctor’s work in Coron is about to end in October. After this, he plans to take up Pathology as specialization as he further pursues his medical career.
He reveals his plan for next year, that is to come up with an adolescent forum (in partnership with different groups). This activity will aim to empower the youth to know more about their reproductive health rights, and how they can take care of themselves better.