OUTREACH PROGRAM - MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR PRIMARY HEALTH(GREEN HEALTH)PhilippinesThe Outreach program - medicinal plants for primary health care was identifiedas one of the best practice in the field of Green Health. The program was implementedby Professor Ludivina de Padua of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños-Instituteof Biological Sciences.The program was selected as a best practice due to the interfacing of scienceand technology and the benefits given to men and women in the community. Theprogram was able to empower women to use herbal plants to treat simple ailments.Women are not only taught which plants can cure different ailment but also on how tomake it into a herbal medicine which can give them an additional income by selling theproduct. This program has been a recipient of Health and Management InformationSystem (HAMIS) award in 1991 (Silver Award), 1994 (Gold Award ) and 1997 (GoldAward).Herbal preparations are now an acceptable alternative to commercial drugs.More and more people are being drawn to herbal medicines. Herbal medicine is anaccepted component of primary health care (PMC) and most PMC programs promotethe use of herbal medicine and its preparation a part of the health training andeducation.I. Background ContextCommunity Profile: Surigao del Norte lies at the northeastern tip of Mindanaoand encompasses several islands. It has a population of 21,780 (1995 statistics). It isflanked on the north by the Leyte Gulf and on the east by the Pacific Ocean. The terrainat the mainland is largely mountainous. Surigao City, its provincial capital, has 53barangays. The majority of the inhabitants are migrant Visayans, with some Waray-Waraysand Tagalos. Cebuano is its principal dialect. The province has abundantrainfall except from May to September.Agriculture is the principal economic activity in the province. Coconut is its primeproduct followed by palay, banana, rootcrops, fruits and vegetables. The nickel depositsof Surigao del Norte is reputed to be one of the largest in the world. It also has vastreserves of gold, chromites and iron. It has the largest municipal fishing industry inNorthern Mindanao. Trading is the dominant activity of the province followed by serviceand manufacturing.Institutional Profile: The University of the Philippines Los Baños is locatedabout 65 km south of Manila. UP Los Baños sits at the foot of the majestic MountMakiling and overlooks Laguna de Bay. It is known for such outdoor landmarks such asMakiling Botanical Gardens, the Museum of Natural History, Flat Rocks, Mud Springs,the Jamboree Camp Site, the National Arts Center, Magnetic Hill and Pook ni MariaMakiling.The University is steadfast in fulfilling its mission of providing quality education toits students and undertaking relevant researches and extension services in agriculture,forestry, veterinary medicine and allied sciences. It is one of the six constituentsuniversities of the University of the Philippine System. It started out as a College ofAgriculture in 1909; and became a full-pledged university in 1972. It has emerged as aleading academic institution in Southeast Asia. Its outstanding achievements in thebasic and applied sciences are testaments to the great strides it has made for the pastninety years. The alumni continue to be the prime movers in academe, government andin business.Research activities in UPLB are geared towards sustainable productivity andefficient resource utilization premised on ecological balance, optimal rural and urbandevelopment, appropriate technologies for processing industry, basic knowledgesystems, and Philippine culture. The university's extension functions complements notonly its instruction and research programs, but also supports the extension functions ofgovernment and non-government agencies, particularly those related to agricultural andrural development.The Institute of Biological Sciences (IBS) wherein Prof. de Padua is affiliatedwith can be traced back to the establishment of the College of Agriculture in 1909, whencourses in the biological fields of Botany, Zoology and Microbiology were offered by theDepartment of Agricultural Botany, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, respectively. Themandates of the UPLB-IBS are: a) to undertake basic studies promoting theadvancement of biological knowledge in tropical environment; b) to upgradeundergraduate and graduate academic programs relevant to the needs of the country; c)to conduct interdisciplinary basic research relevant to efficient management andutilization of natural resources; to disseminate research discoveries; and d) to upgradebiology instruction through publications, symposia, workgroups and seminars.II. Description of the Project/Program/ServiceThe project was initiated by Professor Ludivina S. de Padua, a ProfessorEmeritus at the UPLB-IBS. Her fascination in herbal medicine dated back to herchildhood when as a little girl she would watch her father, a biochemistry professor at theUP College of Medicine work in the backroom of their drugstore preparing herbalmedicine for poor people and guerrillas in Angono, Rizal. This inspired Professor dePadua to take up pharmacy for her college degree, and MS in Botany. As pharmacistand botanist, she has an advantage in the merits of medicinal plants and the vastresource which lay untapped in the country. And long before the "back to nature" fadswamped the stores with herbal medicine, Prof. De Padua had consistently advocatedthe study, regulated use, and conservation of medicinal plants.R and D Involved: She has made numerous research studies on themedicinal properties of some plants that abound in the country. More than 300 plantshave been subjected to researches ranging from studies on the ethnobotany,physiology, microchemistry, morpho-anatomy, histochemistry, microbiology andphytochemical characteristics of some herbs and medicinal plants to studies on theutilization of wild food plants; from screening of indigenous plants to regulate fertility tousing medicinal plants in animal health care. Based on the research results,recommendations are made on the proper use of the plants. Being a licensedpharmacist, Prof. De Padua has formulated several preparations of herbal products andmodification of standard pharmaceutical procedure into "kitchen technologies" whichhave been demonstrated during short courses she conducts regularly.Through research, Prof. de Padua has developed the following herbalformulations:• Lagundi syrup for cough, fever and colds• Ginger lozenges for sore throat and cough, also as breath freshener• Antiseptic tincture for shallow cuts• Capsicum liniment for muscular aches and joint pains• Akapulko ointment for fungal skin infections• Comfrey ointment for scabies and other skin ailments• Tsaang Gubat for loose bowel movementProfessor de Padua's researches were funded by UPLB by providing her thelaboratory room, facilities and equipment she needs to do her researches. Other fundingsources came from the Department of Health, Department of Science and Technology,some drug companies, and from the HAMIS Silver and Gold Awards received in 1991and 1994 from DOH-GTZ.Services/Program Activities: The project was designed as an action researchand extension project. Training and seminars on herbal preparations were conductedamong barangay officials, mother's classes, mothers' clubs, teachers, and school healthofficers. Participants are taught which plants are for which ailments, how to use themand how to grow them in their backyards or pots on their windowsills. Participants aregiven "starter kits" which includes planting material. Participants especially thehousewives were also taught how to prepare formulated medicines in their own kitchen,without the use of sophisticated materials and equipment. This "kitchen technology"lowers the cost of herbal preparations, which in turn brings down the cost of herbalmedicine.Barangay health workers in Surigao who were trained in the formulation andpreparation of herbal products also sold the products they made through the PrimaryHealth Care Mothers' Club. It has become an additional income for the club. Medicinesfor simple ailments such as cold and cough have become accessible to the community.Mothers need not wait for doctors/nurses or the supply from the city to cure theirailments. Mortality among children has decreased because of the use of herbalmedicine. Fewer children died of pneumonia because coughs were easily treated withherbal medicine unlike before wherein cough not treated turn into pneumonia andcomplications which may cause death in children.Other aspects tackled during the training are livelihood generation andconservation of medicinal plants. Planting materials and plant parts provide additionalsource of income; awareness on conservation of this valuable natural resource is alwayspart of every lecture seminar.Role of Women in the identification / planning, implementation andmonitoring / evaluation of the Technology Prof. de Padua was involved in theidentification, implementation, and project monitoring and evaluation. Most of her staff inthe project are women. Most of the trainings participants and technology users arewomen.III. Project ImpactPractical gender needs: Women and children were mostly benefited by thisprogram. It responded to the needs of the women as caregivers and healers of thefamily. Being knowledgeable on herbal medicine, mothers could give low cost medicineto cure simple ailments for their children. Through the Surigao Federated PrimaryHealth Care Mothers' Club, mothers, their families and other individuals were able todevelop skills that allowed them to achieve an acceptable level of health and well-beingin a self-reliant way.Strategic gender needs: Women were empowered through the trainings ofProfessor de Padua on herbal medicine. Men and women were educated on use ofherbal medicine. Before the training, mothers would cluster together after their husbandshave left for fishing, but after the training, women became busy putting up herbalgardens.The mothers' club has also succeeded in mobilizing the male population. Theyhave been organized as an auxiliary group called the Barangay EnvironmentalSanitation Implementation Group (BESIG). By involving the husbands in health relatedprojects, drop-outs from among the mothers have been drastically minimized. Husbandseven help in taking care of the herbal gardens. Through this organization, a lot ofimprovement was seen such as cemented roads, clean, and beautiful surroundings.The members of the organization were given training on health, nutrition and familyplanning so that they may eventually become Barangay Health Workers or BarangayNutrition Scholars.Human Interest Story: A woman named Mina was empowered through thetraining of Professor de Padua. She became the president of the Mother's Club inSurigao City. Being the president, she has become confident to speak to a crowd ofpeople. She even trained other mothers in herbal medicine. She has likewise learned todress well and showed marked improvement in her personality.Another woman positively affected by the project was Zeny Arana. She is amidwife and a member of the Mother's Club in Surigao City. She was able to motivatemothers in making herbal medicine for sale through the club. She is also the coordinatorof the broadcasting of a weekly one-hour radio program and TV program of the Mothers'Club. She was able to maintain a high standard of broadcasting required of acommercial station and high rating in terms of audience reach. Ms. Arana even gainednational renown for being adjudged ‘Outstanding Health Care Manager" by HAMISaward of DOH through the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).These women found meaning in their lives and realized their potentials by takingon dual roles of being housewives and community leaders. They take pride not only inbeing able to help their husbands earn a living but also in teaching others towards abetter life.IV. Analysis and Lessons LearnedThe program of Professor de Padua is an example of the interface of Scienceand Technology and gender to help uplift the health conditions of the poor sector of thecountry. The Program was able to establish a scientific basis for the use of plants inmedicine, to help provide adequate health care to the poorer sectors of the populationand to disseminate information on the proper utilization of medicinal plants. Widelyavailable cheap resources are quality-tested and the knowledge and information thereofdisseminated by this project.A number of factors contributed to the success of this program. First andforemost is the genuine commitment of Professor de Padua to contribute to the nationaleffort towards improving health and quality of life through herbal medicine. Thegovernment agencies and drug companies which provided financial support to theprogram is another contributory factor to the ongoing success of the project. The self-initiativeof the participants who attended the trainings is another factor to be consideredfor its success. Participants, especially women in remote areas appreciated this projectmore since they believe this project can help them to be self-reliant and also improvetheir health conditions.IV. Recommendations for ReplicationTrainings and seminars on herbal medicine should be continued especially in far-flungcommunities where hospitals and drugstores are very far. Government shouldsupport such endeavors to send trainors or lecturers to many poor communities so thatthey can avail of this kitchen technology on herbal medicine.Medicinal plants production of must be strengthened to insure adequate supply.Herbal gardens must be encouraged so there will be a steady supply of plants for herbalmedicine.
