THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said it is mounting a push to improve the health and wellness of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their loved ones, starting with overseas-deployed nurses.
OWWA said as part of its observance of Migrant Workers’ Day, June 5, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) to “coordinate efforts to promote health and wellness of OFWs and their families.”
“(T)his MoU will serve as a platform of partnership between the nursing professionals… to support health and medical interventions for OFWs and their families,” according to the MoU.
Under the agreement, OWWA will be responsible for making its programs and services available to OFW nurses and their dependents. It will also provide reintegration services for returning Filipino nurses and also offer psycho-social evaluations and counselling to OFW-nurses and their dependents if necessary.
PNA’s responsibilities under the MoU include providing guidance needed to conduct the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar of OFW-nurses and also medical and psycho-social assistance to Filipino nurses and their families.
Also on Wednesday, the OWWA said in partnership with Facebook, it will expand its “Digital Tayo” online literacy program to workers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East. The three are some of the top destinations for OFWs, with the Middle East accounting a majority of the total population of overseas-deployed workers.
The program was launched in 2018 as part of last year’s Migrant Workers Day observance. During the first year of implementation, the program trained over 140,000 OFWs in digital literacy.
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo C. Cacdac said in a statement Wednesday that the program with Facebook aims to educate OFWs on telling real news from fake.
“We’re glad to be expanding our digital literacy program with Facebook for OFWs based in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East. Our shared vision is an empowered OFW community that would have critical skills to vet information they find online and consistently use privacy and safety tools available to them,” he said.
Facebook Head of Community Affairs for Asia and the Pacific Beth Ann Lim said in a statement on Wednesday, “Facebook will continue supporting OFWs and their families, to ensure they have a positive, safe and authentic experience on our platforms, wherever they are in the world.” — Gillian M. Cortez
