Pas-anonon sa Inahan: 1A Narrative Case Study on the Maternal and Child Health Services Access in Pintuyan, Southern Leyte Pre- and Post-Typhoon Odette

Abstract

As the environment changes rapidly, more natural disasters such as typhoons may inflict destruction to communities and institutions. Vulnerable groups, like mothers and children, could be among the most affected with its impacts. It is then imperative to study how natural disasters impact access of vulnerable groups to essential health services in the community. This study aims to trace the changes in the accessibility of maternal and child health (MCH) services at Pintuyan Rural Health Unit (RHU) pre- and post-Typhoon Odette. It also seeks to determine the integration of MCH in local disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) plans. Results show that Typhoon Odette has affected various enabling, need, and health system factors in accessing MCH services, including housing and living conditions, evacuation experience, livelihood and income, and provision of aid. It has also been determined that there are only minimal and temporary changes in the dimensions of access pre-and post-Odette. This shows that while improvements in the dimensions of access are being made, the socio-economic vulnerabilities of mothers and children remain unaddressed. This should prompt the local government to consider the intersectionality of vulnerabilities experienced by mothers, pregnant women, and children. There is also limited integration of maternal and child health in local disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) plans. These results point to the need to overhaul the DRRM plans to consider the unique experiences of mothers and children before, during, and after typhoons.