Philippines lags behind SE Asian neighbors in women’s healthcare

By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

THE PHILIPPINES is lagging behind its neighbors in the state of women’s healthcare and has failed to improve its ranking over two consecutive years, global medical technology company Hologic said.

The country maintained its spot at 93^rd place out of 143 countries with an overall score of 47.52, below the 53.70 global average, according to the recent Global Women’s Health Index for 2022.

The index measures women’s health through five dimensions, including preventive care, emotional health, opinions of health and safety, basic needs, and individual health.

In the East and Southeast Asian region, the Philippines placed second to the lowest after Myanmar which scored 42.89. Taiwan (72.06) ranked the highest globally and was followed in the region by Japan (64.86), South Korea (64.14), Vietnam (63.95), Singapore (65.54), and China (63.08).

Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Arlene D. Brosas said inadequate government funding and support for healthcare, resulting in poor medical infrastructure and a shortage of healthcare professionals are among the factors contributing to this low ranking.

“Poverty further restricts access to healthcare services, and there is limited public awareness and education about women’s health issues,” Ms. Brosas told BusinessWorld on Thursday via Viber message.

In terms of preventive care, the Philippines scored 10.56 out of 100, and only 1.5% of Filipino women were said to be tested for cancer.

The country joins the bottom five countries with Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kuwait in terms of cancer tests.

“Health literacy is very low, that’s why from their health center, they won’t get tested. At the same time, the priority is the health of the children and the husbands to stay working, so there is a cultural phenomenon,” Philippine Cancer Society Society Project Director Romeo V. Mercaida said via phone call on Thursday.

He added that this may be caused to health programs being unable to reach the whole from far-fetch locations. This is further compounded by the cost of general cancer testing, which it could range from P800 to P3,000, and would potentially increase if there is a finding.

Mr. Mercaida also noted the availability of low-cost testing, for instance for cervical cancer that costs P100 or even free but is not fully known by the public.

Meanwhile, for government initiatives, the Department of Health (DoH) launched a national cervix screening the Philippine Cancer Society is engaged in this month.

T he three-month program includes several tests for pap smear and Human immunodeficiency virus screening.

The country’s 1.5% testing coverage is far from the 11% global average of women saying they were tested for any type of cancer.

Globally, Hologic saw low testing among women with life-threatening conditions such as high blood pressure at 36% even if it is a major risk factor for heart and stroke. Similarly, 19% of women tested for diabetes, the leading cause of death for women.

Meanwhile, in emotional health — which deals with worry, sadness, stress, and anger, Filipino women scored 61.72, which is again lower than the 66 global average.

The report found that more women say they are sad, angry, and worried now than three years ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Women are more likely than men to feel these negative emotions; for example, women are 20% more likely than men to say they experienced sadness a lot of the previous day,” it said. For opinions of health and safety, the Philippines tide above the 70 global average score of 79.75. However, according to the Philippine Commission on Women, about 13% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence since age 15.

“Even with these gains, opinions of health and safety today are no better than what they were in year one,” the report said.

About 69% of surveyed women think their area has high-quality pregnancy care, 68% are satisfied with the availability of quality healthcare in their area and 65% feel safe walking alone at night where they live.

Meanwhile, the Philippines scored 34.13 in the basic needs subindex that focused on affording food and shelter. In comparison, Taiwan had a 94 score and the global average is 67.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, in the first semester of 2023, about 9.79 million Filipinos, or 8.7% whose income was not enough to buy even the basic food needs estimated at P9,550 monthly food threshold for a family of five.

The report said women worldwide are as likely to struggle to afford food now as they were last year and struggled more than last three years.

In the last sub-index individual health where Philippines scored 76.74 in terms of health problems and physical pain, higher than the 71 global average score.

“The government can improve women’s health by increasing the healthcare budget, strengthening public health programs, improving access to services in rural areas,” Ms. Brosas said.

She added that conducting health education campaigns, incentivizing healthcare workers, and enacting supportive policies to ensure inclusive and non-discriminatory healthcare services will further this cause.

According to Hologic Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Stephen P. MacMillan the Year 3 Hologic Global Women’s Health Index report reflects the real-life experiences of more than 147,000 women and men from 143 countries and territories.