A medical mission was successfully held in Brgy. Cagay, Roxas City on December 7, 2024 coordinated and organized by the Balangaw Network, a coalition of LGBT groups and their advocates in partnership with Council for Health and Development (CHD), National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), Order of Asclepius – West Visayas State University College of Medicine (OA-WVSU CM), and Roxas Junior Chamber International – Sinadya in cooperation with the local government unit (LGU) of Roxas City, Barangay Health Workers and officials of Barangays Cagay, Culajao, and Cogon.

The medical mission served more than 250 patients from the three barangays. The mission provided medical and optometry check-ups, traditional medicine and acupuncture, psychosocial services, health education on maternal and child care, mental health, and oral hygiene. Balangaw members and officers led the LGBT rights orientation, focusing on SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics) awareness and education while the OA-WVSU medical students led the health education initiative and provided brochures to the patients and communities.

As fishing communities, most of the chief medical complaints were high blood pressure, poor eyesight and urinary tract infection which can be related to their diet and the toils of long fishing hours in the open sea. As most of the people are fisherfolks, their earnings are still not enough to cover their medical expenses. Even the amelioration or “ayuda” they get from the government is still not enough to cover basic and medical necessities because their priority is to feed their families.

Days before the medical mission, the medical volunteers from NAFCON and CHD visited the communities to see their current situation and learn from the people’s collective experiences and actions. NAFCON is a US-based Filipino alliance advocating for the welfare of Filipinos in the US and in the Philippines. They are also engaging individuals and organizations in the US in providing aid to marginalized communities in the Philippines through disaster relief and medical missions, community-based learning engagements, and other projects.

The medical volunteers stayed for 2 days in the communities and participated in the daily economic activities of their host families—learning how to process “uga” or dried fish, gathering “talaba” or oysters, and selling these in the markets and stalls.

The community visit provided the volunteers with a deeper and wider understanding of the context of the people’s situation and how preventable and curable diseases still affect most people in this part of Roxas City with poverty as a major determinant. The reality they witnessed gave the volunteers new hope, courage and inspiration to continue fighting for land, livelihood, and health.

CHD thanks NAFCON for their consistent and unwavering solidarity, the Balangaw Network for organizing the medical mission and community visit in Roxas City, partners from NAFCON and OA-WVSU CM, and the local governments and Barangay Health Workers of Roxas City and Barangays Cagay, Culajao, and Cogon. As we continuously work for a free, national, and comprehensive public health care system, let us not waver in our solidarity with people’s organizations and their struggles for the right to land, livelihood, and health. ##