It is a lamentable truth, hitherto, that schoolchildren from GIDAS (Geographically, Isolated and Disadvantage Areas) do a do not have access to quality, functional and child-friendly school-clinics, thus their health-education and other health-caring related needs are not met. This may have greatly contributed to the high mortality and morbidity rates among this age-group not only in Philippines, but also across the Asia Pacific.
To address this problem, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) BIBAHILITA chapter initiated a project called NARSKWELA (Nurse Advocates Reaching School-Kids Who arE Living in GIDAs). With its triadic objectives: (1) to adopt a selected school-based clinics to children from the identified GIDAs (2) to build quality and functional school-based clinics to children in GIDAs in collaboration with stakeholders and partners; (3) to care leaving no school-children behind in accessing quality healthcare services, the project aims to create connecting strands that will address the child health-caring inequities in these less fortunate communities. Furthermore, not merely to build clinics, it is a sustainable key tool to model correct health-seeking behaviors to children at their formative years since health is crucial for them to achieve their academic learning goals better in the future.
Multi-health services were provided ranging from health and dental consultations, minor surgeries, to comprehensive lecture series on relevant health education for teachers and pupils, then distribution of health/hygiene kits and feeding packages. The chapter hopes to replicate this throughout the GIDAS in the southern part of the country before 2022.