Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas regional director Dr. Jaime Bernadas. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-7)
CEBU CITY – The third “Listahanan” or enlistment of poor households in Region 7 (Central Visayas) will guide local government units (LGU) in improving healthcare interventions for the underprivileged sector, the Department of Health (DOH) regional office said Tuesday.
DOH-7 director Dr. Jaime Bernadas said in a statement the comprehensive database system generated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will serve as a basis for deciding on appropriate health programs.
After receiving the Listahanan 2 data in 2019, Bernadas said the DOH-7 will wait for the Listahanan 3 which will soon become available.
The DOH-7 specifically identified the socio-economic and other health-related indicators found in the database as salient features needed in guiding LGUs for their healthcare programs.
“It was very useful (Listahanan 2 data) for us to identify who the priority households were, as we were implementing the strategy. We were also able to generate other health-related indicators and indexes that we were able to help local government in their health interventions and activities,” Bernadas said.
Listahanan, or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), is an information management system that identifies the poor and their locations.
This pioneer database consisting of a comprehensive organization of information on poor households nationwide is made available to government agencies and other social protection stakeholders to serve as a basis in planning and proposing interventions on certain matters, like health.
According to the statement, before the request was made by the DOH-7, it completed the requirements, including the signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA), as directed by the Memorandum Circular no. 12, series of 2017 or the guidelines in sharing of Listahanan 2 data.
The MOA also includes a certification showing the names of the DOH personnel allowed access to the database and assignment of the data privacy officer (DPO), an individual tasked to supervise, protect and ensure that the data are secured.
Bernadas said they used the Listahanan 2 data in their Philippine Health Agenda Check-up System, where all poor households were enrolled.
The DOH-7 also generated reports of the services availed by the poor households in the community.
The database has been very helpful in identifying poor families that are in greater need of health services.
“We need the data to make decisions in the prioritization of health services interventions,” Bernadas said. (PNA)