Photo shows Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa congratulating Dr. Helen P. Yambao after signing the grant contract for “The Project for Providing Medical Equipment and Fixtures for the Delivery Room of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center” on March 24, 2015 at Astoria Plaza, Pasig City, Metro Manila. The ceremony was witnessed by the representatives of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center. |
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa and the Medical Center Chief II of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC), Dr. Helen P. Yambao signed the grant contract for "The Project for Providing Medical Equipment and Fixtures for the Delivery Room of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center" on March 24, 2015 at the Astoria Plaza, Pasig City, Metro Manila. The total amount is US$ 102,138 (approximately 4.28 million pesos) and is funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).
(Project Summary)
The Embassy of Japan through the GGP will provide additional medical equipment and fixtures for the delivery room of the CRMC. Such assistance is seen to improve the prenatal care system to reduce the maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality at the CRMC.
The delivery room of the CRMC is among the busiest section in the hospital. In 2013, the CRMC recorded a total of 7,047 patients of which approximately 4,000 patients had Normal Spontaneous Vaginal Deliveries. The average number of admitted patients is at least 15-20 pregnant women every day. Due to the influx of patients in the delivery room, the medical equipment is not enough to monitor the status of labor contractions and well-being of the fetus and the mother. This situation resulted to maternal exhaustion or undetected fetal distress that can lead to neonatal asphyxia. From the records of the hospital a total of 53 patients in 2013 died from neonatal asphyxia.
(About the Proponent)
CRMC located in the northwestern part of Mindanao, was first established as a Municipal Hospital in 1916. It was upgraded to a 400 bed capacity hospital in 2007 under the Department of Health. It provided basic health care services in poor residents of Region XII (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) and one province in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Maguindanao). In 2010, a total of 7.36 million (NSO website) people are living in these two regions and about 37.1% in Region XII and 48.7% in Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao are considered poor. The CRMC is the main hospital in these regions. In fact, total number of patients increased from 33,333 in 2011 to 67,074 in 2013.
(About the GGP)
The Government of Japan, as the top ODA donor for the Philippines, launched the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects in the Philippines in 1989 for the purpose of reducing poverty and helping various communities engaged in grassroots activities. As of present, 506 grassroots projects have been funded by GGP. Japan believes that this project will not only strengthen the friendship between the peoples of Japan and the Philippines but also contribute to further fostering a strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines toward the future.
Japanese Version
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