Myself with Dr. Chua
Visit to Amai Pakpak in 2014
Observing the facility
In December 2011, a large typhoon hit the city of Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, leaving 1,259 people dead with more than 80,000 households (440,000 people) displaced. Thanks to Dr. Chua who used to head Philippine Academy of Family Medicine, AMDA was able to organize a relief mission with the society’s local branch. It was at that time when I was introduced to former APMC chief Dr. Amer Saber, an influential figure in Marawi’s Muslim community.
Due to the region’s ethnoreligious background, medical teams from the outside have been often denied access to the area. For that matter, my only regret was that we could not go further deep into the area where the extent of the damage was severe.
Dr. Chua examining a patient
AMDA Philippines relief team
If AMDA were to exchange a MOU with APMC, there are two items I would like to include in the terms. They are, namely, 1) endoscopy-laparoscopy technology transfer, and 2) cooperation at the time of crisis such as natural and man-made disasters. As the hospital now has its own medical relief team, they are keen to deploy medical personnel whenever natural disasters hit the locality.
Amai Pakpak Medical Center
Receiving an explanation on its history
The history of APMC dates back to the time when the Philippines was a colony of the United States. And during the Second World War, the facility was used by the Japanese Imperial Army. In the hillside at the back of APMC lies Mindanao States University. Considering Marawi’s location, it is not hard to imagine how geographically important the city was in governing the island of Mindanao as a whole.
Needless to say, carrying out efficient and effective relief has been at the top of the agenda for every medical relief organization. In order to realize this, collaborating with aid givers from different sectors is essential. By optimizing their unique characteristics, medical organizations need to work with likeminded others beyond sectoral boundaries. In short, this is precisely what AMDA is trying to do with its World Platform for Disaster Medicine. It is a scheme that enables a multipartite collaboration with UN organizations, governments, medical associations, NGOs, universities, public interest organizations and private companies, thereby leading to coherent and timely assistance.
Last not but least, I am eagerly looking forward to Mindanao for the path it will take in the course of time.