{"id":21699,"date":"2026-04-08T12:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/?p=21699"},"modified":"2026-04-10T10:44:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:44:26","slug":"community-health-workers-philippines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/blog\/2026\/04\/08\/webinaire-les-agents-de-sante-communautaires-aux-philippines-action-pour-la-sante-et-la-justice-sociale\/","title":{"rendered":"Webinar | Community Health Workers in the Philippines: Community Action for Health and Social Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Webinar | Community Health Workers in the Philippines: Community Action for Health and Social Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Session organized by Viva Salud and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chdph\">Council for Health and Development<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday 17th April<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>12.00 -13.30 CEST<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>|&nbsp;6:00\u20137:30 PM (Manila time)<\/strong><br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:21px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-principal-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/us02web.zoom.us\/webinar\/register\/WN_AA87EF7pTM-6osyAdUDdOg#\/registration\"><strong>Registrations<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Background\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a critical role in ensuring access to health care for marginalized communities and in strengthening community-based primary health care. Across many contexts, they serve as the bridge between communities and health systems, particularly in underserved rural areas and urban poor communities where access to formal health services remains limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Philippines, the concept of Community-Based Health Programs (CBHP) emerged in 1973 as a response from communities, health professionals, and social movements to widespread health inequities and the lack of accessible public health services. Developed during a period marked by political repression and deep social inequalities, CBHPs sought to empower communities to take an active role in addressing their own health needs. Over the past five decades, these programs have evolved into a dynamic grassroots movement linking health, human rights, and social justice, while advocating for a stronger and more equitable public health system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, Community Health Workers supported by the Council for Health and Development (CHD) continue to play an essential role in responding to the health needs of communities across the Philippines. They are often at the forefront of responding to crises such as natural disasters, public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyday challenges faced by communities living in poverty. Beyond delivering health education and basic services, CHWs also mobilize communities around broader social issues affecting health, including access to medicines, environmental risks, and the right to quality public health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their experiences highlight how community-led health initiatives not only improve access to care but also strengthen community organizing, solidarity, and collective action for the realization of the right to health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:21px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Opening remarks<\/strong>&nbsp;(5 minutes)<br>Introduction by Medicus Mundi International<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Context setting<\/strong>&nbsp;(10\u201315 minutes)<br>A representative from Viva Salud will present the organization\u2019s work in supporting social movements and community-based initiatives that promote the right to health and stronger public health systems.<br>A representative from CHD will then introduce the context of Community-Based Health Programs (CBHP) in the Philippines, a grassroots approach developed since 1973 to address health inequities and strengthen community participation in health.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Panel discussion<\/strong>&nbsp;(40\u201345 minutes)<br>Interactive panel discussion followed by Community Health Worker testimonies ( short videos, with english subtitles) highlighting the experiences of CHWs working in different contexts:<br>\u2013 CHWs\u2019 role during disasters and health emergencies (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, flooding, evacuation situations)<br>\u2013 CHWs\u2019 role in community organizing and health campaigns-<br>\u2013 CHWs\u2019 role in broader movements advocating for people\u2019s rights and democratic participation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discussion and&nbsp;<strong>Q&amp;A<\/strong>&nbsp;with the audience (20 minutes)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The format will allow participants to engage directly with practitioners and hear firsthand experiences from community health workers working on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:21px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-sr-3-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-11b5b8fb634195799a885afc692b5160\">Speakers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Marie-Lou Badie &#8211; Policy and Campaign Officer for the Philippines, Viva Salud.<\/strong><br>She will present the organization\u2019s work in supporting social movements and community-based initiatives that promote the right to health and stronger public health systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emelina Buenaventura \u2013 Executive Director, Council for Health and Development.<\/strong><br>She will introduce the context of Community-Based Health Programs (CBHP) in the Philippines, a grassroots approach developed since 1973 to address health inequities and strengthen community participation in health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Marlyn Roda Sebastian &#8211; CHW, Pasig City<br><\/strong>She will speak about CHWs\u2019 role during disasters and health emergencies (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, flooding, evacuation situations)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rosebe Tulawe &#8211; CHW, Quezon City<br><\/strong>She will present CHWs\u2019 role in community organizing and health campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rayne Suyam-Gallawen &#8211; CHW and staff of Community Health Education, Services, and Training in the Cordillera Region<br><\/strong>She will address CHWs\u2019 role in broader movements advocating for people\u2019s rights and democratic participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:21px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-principal-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/us02web.zoom.us\/webinar\/register\/WN_AA87EF7pTM-6osyAdUDdOg#\/registration\"><strong>Registrations<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Their experiences highlight how community-led health initiatives not only improve access to care but also strengthen community organizing, solidarity, and collective action for the realization of the right to health.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":21700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[896,53],"tags":[401,176],"pays":[648,94],"class_list":["post-21699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualites","category-agenda","tag-droit-a-la-sante","tag-droits-humains","pays-belgique","pays-philippines"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21699"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21715,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21699\/revisions\/21715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21699"},{"taxonomy":"pays","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivasalud.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pays?post=21699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}