DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 21 December) — Dabawenyos, particularly those with hypertension and diabetes, have been reminded to be mindful of the food they eat and their alcohol intake during Christmas and New Year celebrations to avoid stroke, which remains
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 18 November) — Even with fever and common colds, Melinda Estandarte, 49, continues to sort out garbage and dissect alloys from discarded electronic products at the city’s garbage dump site in New Carmen in Tugbok District
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / September 2) —An official of the City Health Office (CHO) said hypertension and diabetes medicines are now back in stock after being unavailable for the past six months. In an interview with MindaNews, Shiela May B.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 01 September) — Lupus is a disease most people here rarely talk about, let alone run for. Yet on August 17, some 1,274 runners in purple shirts filled the city streets, marking the third year
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 Aug) — A councilor here is calling on the Department of Health to augment budget for the anti-rabies program of its regional office, and that of the City Veterinarian’s Office and the bite treatment centers
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 6 Aug) — A health official in this city said the recent rise in reported human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases is not just a sign of increased infections, but of improved public health systems that are
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 30 July) — Malnourished children in the city considered under “wasting” status—said to be the “the most … visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition”— has slightly increased this year, according to data from the City Health
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 19 June) — The Provincial Health Office of Agusan del Sur (PHO-ADS) has reported the first confirmed case of mpox (formerly monkeypox) in the province, marking the first case in the entire Caraga
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 10 June) — There are no recommended specific measures in place yet for schools in case mpox cases in the Davao Region would increase, a Department of Health – Region XI official said. As classes are
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 30 May 30) — The City Health Office here reported four new mpox cases as of May 30, Friday, with all of them in “stable condition.” The CHO earlier reported two cases on April 18; one
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 22 May) — Health authorities in South Cotabato province warned residents over the possible surge in the cases of mpox (previously known as monkeypox) as it reported 10 confirmed infections as of Thursday, May 22. Dr.
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 21 May) — Two confirmed mpox cases have been documented by health authorities of the Bangsamoro Region, with six more suspected cases being monitored. Dr. Kadil “Jojo” Sinolinding Jr., Minister of Health of the Bangsamoro Autonomous
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 6 May) — Earlier this year, the DOH Davao Region raised concerns over rabies-related deaths, which increased by 50%—from 24 deaths in 2023 to 36 in 2024. Davao del Norte recorded 13 deaths, an increase of
Part 1 of 2 MAGSAYSAY, Davao del Sur (MindaNews / 5 May) — In Barangay Blocon of this municipality, far from urban centers where medical services are readily available, the decades-old practice of “tandok” persists. Practitioners believe that tandok can
TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte (MindaNews / 30 March) — Mosquitoes have been leaving an itch—literally and figuratively—to Tagumenyos for more than a year now. Tagum has yet to consistently contain the mosquito-borne dengue since November 27, 2023, when the
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 29 March) — When Rogelio Timbal tends his one-hectare rice field in Barangay Caimpugan in this municipality, the thick, knee-deep mud makes every step a struggle. His boots, meant to protect him, only
In the inaugural episode of “Kahimtang,” a MindaNews Podcast produced by Rodge Lelis and RR Reserva, the hosts examines the human experience through the lens of the Masara, Davao de Oro landslides.
MANILA (MindaNews / 24 April) – MindaNews on Wednesday was awarded Outstanding Community Newspaper-Daily and reporter Yas Ocampo as Outstanding Community Journalist in the 1st Think Pink Awards on Outstanding Stories on Breast Cancer during the 60th anniversary celebration of
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 24 Sept) – The Davao region has yet to attain herd immunity against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), recording only 3.3 million fully vaccinated individuals or 86.8% of the target population of 3.8 million as of September 19,
BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews / 23 July) – “Does a Yoga master get sick?” A friend teased me when I told him I got ill. I am not sure if I find that funny. I am not a master or an
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNew/10 July) — Four more residents here have tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the last five weeks, bringing the total number of cases in the area to 81, a local health official said.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/10 July) — Officials of Tampakan town in South Cotabato have declared the entire area under a state of calamity due to the continuing outbreak of the mosquito-borne chikungunya disease. Jenelyn Roca, spokesperson of the Tampakan local
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/25 January)– Three more residents here have tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with local health authorities noting that such development “could be an indication that their campaign against the disease has been gaining ground.” Dr.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/14 Apr) — Two children have died and 67 others fell ill of dengue infection as Valencia City faces an alarming increase in the number of dengue cases, an officer of the City Health Office (CHO) said.
The 67 cases for the year’s first three months are almost the same as the number of cases for the whole 2008, Villa Rizon , sanitary inspector at the CHO’s environmental sanitation sector, said today.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/16 Apr) — Health officials in Alabel town in Sarangani province have launched an inquiry on the reported food poisoning case in one of its villages that earlier downed an entire family and later killed a young boy and unborn twins.
(The authors are senior journalism students of the University of the Philippines. This two-part report is an abridged version of their thesis, which was done under the supervision of UP journalism professor and VERA Files trustee Yvonne Chua. VERA Files gave MindaNews permission to disseminate this)
IF a minimum wage earner were to be stricken with diarrhea, relief can come cheap from the Department of Health’s Botika ng Barangay (BnB) outlets, where a 2-milligram capsule of generic loperamide would cost only P1.05.
The BnB price is vastly lower than what loperamide costs in commercial drugstores—P4.10 for generic and P14 for branded.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/14 April) — The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has 248 “operational” Botika ng Barangay in all five member-provinces, not 78 only, ARMM health secretary Dr. Tahir Sulaik said.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 March) – If you’re 35 or younger and a registered nurse who has had no nursing-related practice for the past three years, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) needs you to help the region’s 89 poorest towns under the Nurses Assigned in Rural Services (NARS) program.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/07 March) – A Taosug doctor who is also a licensed nurse is one of three Diamonds In The Rough awardees.
Afdal B. Kunting RN, MD, MPH, district health officer of Sangali in Zamboanga City, the Mindanawon among the awardees, is also the youngest, at 36.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/19 Feb) – Poor residents in South Cotabato may now avail of "cheaper but effective" medicines through the local government's newly-opened Health Plus Pharmacy.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/3 Feb) — Six persons died, including a nine-year-old boy and three senior citizens, while more than half of the population of a remote village here fell ill of amoebiasis in the last two months, according to the City Health Office.
VALENCIA CITY (MindaNews/29 Jan) – The city government of Valencia has offered six hectares out of its eight-hectare property in Bagonta-as for the Department of Health's proposed Regional Mental Health Institute, an official said.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/7 Jan) — The provincial government has set another schedule for the opening of the new Bukidnon Medical Center (BMC), a hospital official said.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/13 May) – Relief goods have been distributed starting today in areas in Sultan Kudarat province affected by floods spawned by Typhoon Butchoy, the provincial social welfare office said. Henry Albano, provincial social welfare officer, said that they started repacking on Monday several food items for 2,658 families in at least nine villages in Esperanza and Lambayong towns.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/13 May) – At least 1,150 children will benefit from the simultaneous operation 'tuli' (circumcision) and milk supplementation program in North Cotabato on Thursday.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/02 May) – Some 117 villages in North Cotabato have been classified as endemic to malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, records from the Department of Health (DOH) show.
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/30 April) – A chief sponsor of the Cheaper Medicines Bill newly approved by Congress has expressed doubts the measure would be effective in lowering down the prices of medicines in the country reportedly due to its lack of reliable price regulatory mechanisms.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/17 April) — Mosquito nets can save you from malaria, and death.
Dr. Josephine Ibalio, provincial malaria coordinator of the Department of Health in Bukidnon said they are pushing for greater public education on the anti-malaria campaign by urging people to use mosquito nets, among other things.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/12 April) — The prices of the medicines in the country are 100 to 1,000 percent higher than other Asian countries, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/08 April) – In a move which may yet again draw flak from the influential Roman Catholic Church, the House committee on health said it will take another look at the controversial reproductive health bill as a possible measure to ease the country's population growth as it braces for a looming rice crisis.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/03 April) – For a year now, residents of downtown Kidapawan and neighboring villages no longer travel 20 kilometers north of the city to avail of services of a public hospital, some dying along the way to the Provincial Hospital.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/15 March) – Public hospitals in the province lack medicines and supplies not because there is no budget but because of fluctuations in prices, Bukidnon Governor Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr. said.
MLANG, North Cotabato (MindaNEws/5 March) — Health authorities in the province of North Cotabato have declared that the 14 residents of Barangay Bagontapay here who feasted last week on the meat of a rabid dog are out of danger from rabies.
MLANG, North Cotabato (MindaNews/4 March) — Poor residents in one of the villages here have been selling one of their kidneys for P200,000 to foreigners needing transplants, triggering an alarm among health officials here.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/21 Feb) – The city government here is fasttracking the implementation of the city hospital's P21-million infrastructure development programs as it pushes for the full conversion of the facility into an economic enterprise this year.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/20 Feb) — In a surprise move, North Cotabato Gov. Jesus Sacdalan announced a random drug testing among elected and police officials of the province on Tuesday, letting personnel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) do the tests.
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/18 Feb) — The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has surpassed its target collection in Region 12 or Southwestern Mindanao despite fraudulent claims from medical practitioners.
VALENCIA CITY (MindaNews/January 26) – Members of the Bukidnon Medical Society are protesting a provision in the cheap medicines bill which bans doctors from including the brand name of a drug in any part of a prescription.
