The World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Latter-Day Saints Charities (LDSC) continue their agencies’ cooperation to help build back better in typhoon-ravaged communities. One of their joint projects is the renovation of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Centre (EVRMC) mortuary. The Governments of Canada and Japan provided the funding for this rehabilitation project.
When Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) struck the Eastern Visayas region, health facility infrastructure suffered significant damage. One of the hardest-hit facilities was the mortuary of the EVRMC in Tacloban City. The typhoon severely damaged its walls, ceilings, windows and doors. The facility also lost its electricity and water supply, leaving it completely non-functional and incapable of providing essential health services. The improved mortuary facility will benefit approximately 25,000 households or 100,000 people in the next five years.
The WHO has been co-coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) all health-related aspects of the emergency response, with EVRMC serving as one of the command centres. The LDSC had rebuilt in 2014 EVRMC’s Emergency Trauma Operating Center and Outpatient Department Operating Room. The hospital again requested the assistance of WHO and LDSC, this time with ILO.
In this and other Haiyan projects, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has been ILO’s key partner in providing sustainable livelihood and developing enterprises. Together ILO and DOLE have ensured workers’ access to employment opportunities, skills training, social protection including income security and health care (with the Social Security System or SSS, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth), and have ensured proper adherence to occupational safety and health standards (e.g. protective personal equipment or PPE).
The WHO provided key mortuary equipment and all the necessary building materials for renovating the facility, while the LDSC locally hired the skilled and unskilled workers, provided the basic construction tools, and installed the assets supplied by WHO and EVRMC. Meanwhile, the ILO covered the workers’ wages, health insurance (PhilHealth), enrolment in the social protection system (SSS), and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The WHO, ILO, and LDSC also undertook monitoring visits to the site to track the renovation’s progress.
Dr Julie Lyn Hall, WHO Representative in the Philippines said, “Since Typhoon Yolanda hit in 2013, the WHO has remained committed in extending its support to the typhoon-affected communities, to help build back better and restore all essential health services”.
“This mortuary is a symbol of the respect and dignity that is due to our [departed] beloved. And it’s a strong indication that we ourselves are giving importance to it,” explained Dr Allison Gocotano, WHO Field Team Lead in Tacloban.
Lawrence Jeff Johnson, Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines, saw the rehabilitation as an opportunity to rebuild not just structures but lives as well. “Workers affected by the disaster were given the chance to rebuild their lives and their communities, including health facilities. Aside from minimum wage guarantee, we also extended social security, health and accident insurance coverage, as well as ensured safety and health at work”.
“Workers were able develop new skills and earn much-needed income to provide for their family or buy goods and services, which created a multiplier effect while helping rebuild communities and restore health facilities,” Johnson added.
“[Renovating the EVRMC facility] is only one of the various interventions of the ILO in helping areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda. It was heart-breaking to see this facility damaged so severely but now it’s fully restored,” said Godofredo Rodriguez Jr., ILO Project Coordinator in Tacloban. The ILO has also collaborated with WHO on the restoration of other health facilities in Leyte and plans to collaborate further on similar vital projects.
Dr Bill Jackson, a LDS service missionary, was part of the development phase of the mortuary. He said, “It has been a great honour and privilege to work alongside the WHO and ILO whose aim is to provide assistance to the needy”.
Ricardo Aban, Stake President of the LDSC and a nurse at EVRMC, said, “As Stake President of the LDSC, I am grateful that I am also part of EVRMC. I hope that through this, we are able to uplift somehow the sorrow and those who are needing comfort”.
On behalf of the management and staff of EVRMC, Dr Aileen Espina conveyed her sincerest gratitude to all the organizations who supported the project. “During Yolanda, we realized the importance of having this facility. So we really appreciate the contributions made by each organization, our donors, and other stakeholders to make this project a reality”.
In a continuing effort to build back better in typhoon-affected communities, the WHO, ILO and LDSC are committed to jointly work in the rehabilitation and recovery of more damaged facilities for a better, more robust health system in Eastern Visayas.