DOH, DMW begin talks on exchange programs with nations needing health workers
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said it has started talks with the Department of Migrant Workers for possible exchange programs with other nations that need medical workers.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said this during a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and representatives of the healthcare cluster of the Private Sector Advisory Council on Thursday, according to a release of the Office of the Press Secretary.
According to Vergeire, the DMW plans to secure deals with bilateral partners to provide funds for scholarships.
“So in turn, we are going to propose that if we can provide them with these numbers that they need, they [would] provide us also, for example, scholarships for a number of our healthcare workers,” she was quoted by the OPS as saying.
The health official noted that graduates have to stay in the country for two years before they can be deployed abroad.
Marcos said that while the government cannot prevent nurses and other medical workers from pursuing high-paying jobs abroad, healthcare workers must at least serve their country if they avail of the government scholarship program.
“You can’t hold people back from a better life, from a better living… But I think it’s fair that if you provide scholarship, that you expect that they serve [their community] for a few years,” the chief executive was quoted as saying.
According to the Filipino Nurses United, more than 100,000 nurses in the private sector earn P537 per day in Metro Manila and much lower in areas outside the capital region. The minimum wage in the National Capital Region is P570.
The minimum salary of nurses in government-run health institutions is currently at around P35,000. While they have relatively higher pay, they also suffer from work and patient overload. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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