2 of 10 overseas DH uninformed on repro diseases - NGO

A migrant workers’ group raised fears on Friday that sexually transmitted infection (STI) and reproductive track infection (RTI) could be a growing health concern among overseas Filipino domestic helpers due to lack of knowledge about these diseases.

Ma. Fe Nicodemus, executive director of Kakammpi (Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak ng mga Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino, Inc.) said that 23 (7.3 percent) of the 302 overseas domestic helpers surveyed in 2005 had no idea about STI and RTI.

The group has been observing increasing cases of the ailments among its members.In simple terms, it means two out of 10 domestic workers did not have sufficient knowledge about diseases affecting their reproductive health.

“Among our members, we have recorded STI cases resulting from induced abortion. The problem alarms us especially that same survey shows that 23 of the respondents indicated pregnancy while working abroad as one of their problems," she said.

“We assisted a domestic helper who got serious RTI because she used a hanger to hook the fetus out of her uterus," she said.The Action for Health Initiatives, Inc. (Achieve), a health group helping women migrant workers, conducted in 2005 a study entitled, “A Survey of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Status and Needs of Filipino Female Overseas Domestic Workers" in the National Capital Region, Davao City, Cebu City and La Union.

A total of 302 respondents were interviewed in the survey aimed to generate baseline data on the current reproductive health situation and needs of overseas Filipino women working as domestic helpers.The respondents were between the ages of 24 - 44 and majority of them were married.

Almost half of the respondents went to college while 33 finished secondary education. Reproductive health concerns identified in the survey include becoming pregnant, 7.3 percent (23), while working abroad. Other ailments include hysterectomy, myoma, breast cyst, irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, painful urination, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and induced abortion.The health group said some overseas domestic helpers are prone to reproductive health problems because of lack of knowledge on reproductive health.

Twenty-three of the respondents did not know anything about STI/RTI.“The findings of the survey are significant because Philippine migration has assumed a woman’s face, with seven out of 10 overseas Filipino workers leaving the country being women," Nicodemus said. - Luis Gorgonio, GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

Vietnam condemns China's 'brutal behavior' in fisher attack ---- Agence France-Presse

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam's foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China's "brutal behavior" during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea. The 10 fishermen were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands -- an archipelago in the resource-rich waterway claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Vietnam "resolutely protests the brutal behavior of Chinese law enforcement forces against Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam", foreign ministry spokesperson Vietnam Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, using the Vietnamese term for the Paracel Islands. "The above actions of Chinese law enforcement forces seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty" over the archipelago, the statement said. Four of the Vietnamese crew were taken to hospital on Monday...
Read more

Africa roads are world’s deadliest despite few cars ---- AFP

ADDIS ABABA: Africa has the fewest roads and cars of any region, and yet the largest ratio of vehicle deaths, caused by the usual suspects — unsafe habits, speeding and drinking — but also poor infrastructure, scant rescuers and old cars. As everywhere, speed, alcohol and not wearing a seat belt or helmet are among the main causes of death and injury, say experts. But in Africa, where there are 620 traffic deaths every day, these problems are compounded by bad roads, outdated vehicles, minimal prosecutions and a shortage of emergency services. A recent World Health Organization report found that Africa surpassed the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia — which recorded the most road deaths — with a record ratio of 19.5 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. Home to only around four percent of the world’s automobiles, Africa accounted for 19 percent of road deaths last year. “What is worrying is the upward trend in Africa,” said Jean Todt, a former head of the Internati...
Read more