July 12, 2002, Manila - Health Secretary Manuel M. Dayrit inaugurated the DOH Doctors to the Barrios - Pfizer Training and Learning Center at the DOH Compound in Tayuman, Manila.
The Center, located on the 3rd Floor of the Health Human Resource Development Bureau Building (12-A) of the Department of Health, houses a virtual library and a training center. The virtual library has five computer stations with Internet access, while the training center can hold classroom lectures and workshops for 30 participants. It is equipped with Audio-Visual Equipment for use of the participants.
Secretary Dayrit said, "the Center will allow the doctors deployed in the municipalities to communicate with the DOH National Office here in Manila. We hope that this will improve the exchange of information from the central office to the periphery, thereby facilitating the delivery of healthcare in the provinces.
"The purpose of the facilities is to provide a venue for the participants of the Doctors to Barrios to receive training, and to conduct research. Here, they are able to learn about medical advancements and treatment methods applicable to their setting. From the barrios, they can communicate with the Center and ask questions regarding the management of diseases that are common to their areas. The Center can then provide them with the urgently needed data. In many cases, timely information can help save lives."
In 1992, then DOH Secretary Juan Flavier conceptualized Project 271, which proposed to deploy young, dedicated and idealistic doctors to a target of 271 doctorless municipalities all over the country. Called The Doctors to the Barrios, the program, since its launch in 1993 has deployed 337 doctors in 261 municipalities.
Sec. Dayrit adds that, "access to healthcare is one of the more daunting challenges that the country continues to face. By encouraging the doctors to continue to serve in the barrios, the members of the community will be able to consult a professional on health concerns. The presence of the doctor in the barrio will help improve the health situation in the area.
Through technology, communications between the region and the head office will be much easier. On the personal side, the doctors deployed will also be able to conveniently communicate with their families."
The construction of the DTTB Training and Learning Center is made possible with the support of Pfizer. Pfizer Inc., the leading, global, research-based healthcare company, has been recognized as among the world's top Corporate Philanthropists. Pfizer has partnerships with the Ministries of Health all over the world. These partnerships have resulted in the control and, in some countries, elimination, of Blinding Trachoma (the leading cause of blindness), as well as the improvement of over-all health in people suffering from AIDS/HIV.
In the Philippines, Pfizer has established Medical Information Centers in the University of Sto. Tomas, the Philippine General Hospital and the Philippine Heart Center. These facilities provide healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers the resources to research about the latest medical information and scientific breakthroughs to help treat and manage diseases that affect the patients.
Mr. Rey Gerardo E. Bacarro, President and Country Manager of Pfizer in the Philippines, expressed the company's commitment to the programs of the Department of Health and the government. "We are one with the government in its goal to make healthcare more accessible to the Filipino people. By encouraging the young doctor volunteers to serve in doctor-less communities, hope for better health and life are given to the families who live in these remote villages," said Mr. Bacarro in his Pledge of Support to the DOH.
He adds, "this is our humble contribution to the government's efforts. We feel privileged to be given the opportunity to partner with the government in this endeavor and be a part of the solution to the problems of healthcare in the country."
