Leni bats for more investments in preventive health care

NAGA CITY, Philippines — Former vice president and now Naga Mayor Leni Robredo has underscored the importance of increasing investments in preventive medicine to reduce long-term burden on the country’s health care system.

In an interview following the city’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Summit last week, Robredo described preventive health services such as vaccination as a “worthy effort.”

“We’re veering away from making treatment the sole focus of our health programs. We want to give more attention to the preventive side,” Robredo said in English and Filipino.

“I believe that in the long run, this will benefit not only the health of our constituents, but also the city’s resources. If we strengthen the prevention side, we will be able to free up a lot of resources that can be used for other purposes,” she added.

Robredo recognized challenges in public awareness, noting the focus on treatment rather than prevention.

“(The system) is mainly reactive. We give them medicines or help in settling hospital fees, then we’re already OK. I don’t think public health is about that,” she said.

As example, Robredo noted that in the case of cervical cancer, there is a low number of screening and vaccination for human papillomavirus, which could eliminate or reduce deaths from HPV.

“Vaccination always requires a significant investment, but when many people get sick because they were not vaccinated, the costs become even greater,” she said.

Robredo encouraged the Department of Health and other local government units to further increase investments in preventive care, as well as ensure that there are complementary awareness campaigns to reduce wastage.

“This is worth the investment,” Robredo said. “We can better protect our constituents if we focus on the preventive side. We should not hesitate about the resources we will allocate because, here in Naga, we believe this is a very worthwhile investment.”