"Leave no one left behind"
Global Health Nursing Laboratory,
St. Luke's International University
June 2022 Visit to Philippines
In front of the CANOSSA CAVITE health center
DOI or URL
Ph.D. student Ms. Shoki and M.S. students Ms. Hamada and Ms. Ninohei visited Manila, Republic of the Philippines, to participate in the program "Understanding the Health Issues of Young Mothers in Poor Settings", together with Dr. Nagamatsu. St. Luke's International University organized this program at the invitation of the University of the Philippines.
Upon arrival in Manila, participants visited the CANOSSA CAVITE Health Center, the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO WPRO), and the CANOSSA Health & Social Center, where they participated in the program together with professors from the University of the Philippines. In this program, the participants learned about the characteristics of the Tondo area, which considered to be the poorest in the Philippines and where the CANOSSA Health & Social Center is located, as well as the health centers’ maternal and child health efforts . We then visited Happy Land, a slum in the Tondo area.
Below are some comments from the participants.
●During our stay, we visited the Canossa Health Center, which conducts health activities for the poor, the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, faculty members of the University of the Philippines School of Nursing, and a slum area. Despite the short number of days, we had a very productive time.
It was especially shocking to see young children running around barefoot in the slums, sorting garbage and doing other work in an environment where poor sanitation was obvious at first glance. I also heard from a local midwife that the number of young pregnancies had increased due to the effects of waiting at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Seeing with my own eyes the information I had learned from desk knowledge and data and hearing the real experiences of people on the front lines, I realized the complexity of health problems in the Philippines and the difficulty of addressing them.
Even in such a difficult situation, I was impressed by the wonderful local health activities of Canossa Health Center, which kept my spine erect. We were able to see various innovations, such as the use of video broadcasting for those who have difficulty with home rehabilitation due to infection prevention and the use of items that are nearby close at hand to allow rehabilitation at home without spending a lot of money. I hope that in the future, we will be able to learn from each other and from Canossa's activities and bring them to the Philippines and share Japanese nursing techniques with the Philippines. (Hamada)
At the entrance to the slums
Observe home visit
●Although the Philippines has a universal health insurance system and the cost of medical examinations is not so high, the high cost of medical tests and medicines prevents people in poor areas from receiving adequate treatment, leading to death even from diseases that would be curable in Japan. In this program, we visited the CANOSSA HEALTH & SOCIAL CENTER, which serves as a safety net to support the health of residents in impoverished areas. The health of the residents was in jeopardy as the facility's Directly Administered Drug Therapy (DOTS)(, lifestyle disease patient programs, and pregnancy checkups were suspended due to Covid-19. Even under these circumstances, the local staff were ready to support the community. We believe this support will strengthen the community. Identifying, nurturing, and supporting key local human resources is an essential perspective for developing sustainable resources. Through observing a collaborative project with the University of the Philippines, we learned how to create and maintain a cycle that extends from core institutions and human resources to the community. Furthermore, we also visited to the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. We were briefed on the role of nurses in international organizations and global health issues. It was a valuable experience to see the future role of nursing and new opportunities. (Ninohei)
At the Tondo area
