Honorable Executive Director Julius A. Lecciones, M.D.
Philippine Children's Medical Center
Honorable Dr. Corazon Yabes-Almirante, MSc. PhD
Chief, Perinatal-Neonatology-Pediatric Gynecology Center
Distinguished guests and officials
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Magandang hapon. (Good afternoon!)
First of all, allow me to express my sincere appreciation for the message of sympathy and condolences from the PCMC over the recent earthquake and tsunami, in particular, I am touched by the contribution made by the employees of the Center. The Government and people of Japan are making all-out efforts to overcome the difficulties and our economic activities are gradually coming back to normalcy.
On today's 23 rd Anniversary Celebration of the Perinatal-Neonatology-Pediatric Gynecology Center, I am happy to note the event a concrete manifestation of more than five decades of continuing friendship and cooperation between Japan and the Philippines in health sector development. I wish to convey my congratulations on this momentous occasion.
Japan regards that collaboration and mutual cooperation in health sector development as extremely important from the viewpoint of human security. Furthermore, Prime Minister Naoto Kan has proposed an assistance model in maternal and child health which gives people access to appropriate preventive services and medical care at proper facilities when they are in need. This is called “EMBRACE”, which stands for “Ensure Mothers and Babies Regular Access to Care”, and virtually means to embrace mothers and children. The model aims to deliver a series of health services including antenatal care with routine examinations and neonatal care at facilities with quality equipment and human resources, improvement in access to hospitals and immunization. This is an approach to ensure a continuum of care from pregnancy to after childbirth. This undertaking reaffirms Japan's faithful implementation to international commitments to achieve the MDGs.
In the Philippines, the number of i nfant deaths per 1,000 live births has clearly reduced. This measure of infant mortality rate showed a significant decline from 80 to 33.5 deaths between 1990 and 2008. I believe your good Center had played a key role in this successful achievement and will continue to contribute to the Philippines' efforts in attaining the fourth MDG. The Government of Japan is pleased with these accomplishments as we also focus in our mutual cooperation for the development and strengthening of maternal and child health.
In this context, I look forward to be with you when you celebrate your 25 th anniversary.
In closing, I sincerely hope that our good friendship will continue as part of the strategic partnership between our two countries and people to bring about a safer and healthier environment for our future generations.
I wish you all a successful celebration. Mabuhay! (Cheers!)
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines