Is kindness the real cure?
The Bayanihan e-Konsulta returns faster than the new president can say, “Your new Secretary of Health is…” (Screengrab: Leni Robredo via Youtube)
Former Vice President of the Philippines Leni Robredo announced the return of her office’s flagship telemedicine program, Bayanihan e-Konsulta, last Wednesday.
In her Facebook announcement, Robredo said the free, volunteer-run service by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was re-opening to address another COVID-19 surge in the country.
Bayanihan e-Konsulta primarily provided teleconsultation and COVID care kits, as well as connected patients with partner hospitals and labs for further care. It also offered non-COVID and mental health services.
It temporarily stopped operations in February during Robredo’s bid for the presidency, but was later allowed to resume during the campaign period. It ended on May 31 together with Robredo’s term as vice president and after her loss in the elections.
Despite its short run, Robredo said they were able to assist over 58,000 patients. The program has been lauded for helping manage hospitals’ loads since its launch in April 2021.
Fighting COVID with kindness
Within 20 minutes of Robredo’s announcement, she tweeted that volunteer sign-ups had already reached 1,100. It proves the spirit of volunteerism is well and alive in the Philippines, but it’s also a bit of good news while we still wait for the appointment of a Secretary of Health in the middle of the pandemic. We repeat—in the middle of the pandemic.
Abroad, volunteers are taking matters into their own hands, too. Nepal mobilized more than 50,000 female volunteers last year. From delivering vaccines in Pakistan to trials for oral vaccines in California, the United Nations reported a “global surge in volunteering” because of COVID.
“Volunteers have been assisting vulnerable groups, correcting misinformation, educating children, providing essential services to the elderly, and supporting frontline health workers,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on International Volunteer Day last December.
Volunteerism isn't dead
It’s either COVID has made people kinder, or had them adopt a stronger I’ll-do-it-myself mindset, or both.
The success of the OVP’s program rode not only the volunteer wave, but also that of telemedicine the past two years. With the rise of telemedicine, experts say “public and private sector systems must ensure that these services evolve in parallel” with a country’s healthcare system. Therefore, Bayanihan e-Konsulta—and all ventures like it—must still get due support from the government it came from.
Be it directly through financial and technical aid, or indirectly by improving the system as a whole to lessen the burden on a much smaller, less funded entity, the government has a mandated role to play in the most basic task of ensuring everyone has access to quality health services.
Volunteerism is admirable, sure, but there should be no need for it in an ideal world. Though even countries with the best universal healthcare systems in the world are not immune from the brunt of COVID (no one is, to be honest), knowing the government is going to refund you for your hospital bills is infinitely more comforting than thinking your recovery is dependent on a group of kind strangers and sheer luck.
In the meantime, let’s mask up, get boosted when we can, and hope for the best.
