In its first week of assuming office, Binmaley’s new
government faced massive flooding throughout the municipality.
28 out of the town’s 33 barangays were out of potable
water; crops and animals were dying; and people were getting
sick, particularly those from squatter communities. It took
residents one to two hours just to get a pail of potable
water. Malnutrition affected 17 percent of elementary schoolchildren
and 11 percent of children below six years of age. The municipal
government quickly brought key sectors together to discuss
these urgent issues and discovered that most of these problems
were interrelated.
In response, Binmaley launched a Nutrition, Food,
Environment, and Medicare Program, a government socio-economic
and environmental program made where it was needed most.
There were four main intervention activities. First, children
received nutritional supplements, dental care, day care,
and other forms of assistance to keep them healthy and in
school. Second, parents received health education and training
in responsible parenthood and family planning. Parents also
received support for livelihood programs. Third, the environment
for both children and parents were improved through the
control of flooding and creation of more accessible sources
of potable water. And fourth, Medicare (in the form of two
days of free care at a private hospital, paid for by the
municipal government) was provided for any resident deemed
indigent by a social worker.
The results have been encouraging, especially for
the poorest of the poor. Flooded areas have been reduced
by 80 percent since of mid-1992 by diverting flood and dam
overflows away from populated areas. Malnutrition has gone
down by 4 percent. The Medical program has covered the medical
costs of 1,250 indigent patients.
