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Mental Health in the Philippines During the Pandemic

Mental Health in the Philippines
Mental health in the Philippines is worsening during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of calls for mental health assistance has increased along with higher reports of depression and suicidal thoughts. UNICEF, the Philippine Red Cross and the World Health Organization (WHO) have come together to contribute invaluable resources, such as infographics and a hotline. These two key implementations have been instrumental in reducing the negative mental health effects of these trying times and in unifying isolated Filipinos.

Infographics for Frontline Workers and Filipino Citizens

The WHO updated its Philippines website in September 2020 to include mental health infographics. The graphics portray encouraging messages and quick facts and are all available for download. It tailored the various infographics to specific audiences — among the selections are the elderly, family of COVID-infected patients and frontline workers.

Some images directed toward Filipino citizens include reminders to nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals to self-care. With the high amount of Filipinos in the healthcare field, a high volume of nurses and doctors are bound to have very particular needs relating to the emotional exhaustion of caring for extremely sick people.

A Mental Health Hotline

The Philippine Red Cross has instituted a special hotline to provide psychological first aid related to the effects of COVID-19. UNICEF is pairing with Red Cross to provide resources and mobilize support systems to improve mental health in the Philippines.

The hotline’s Red Cross workers consist of 14 trained volunteers hailing from mainly social work and mental health backgrounds. They receive training for three days in helping skills and mock calls. The trainees also attend four-hour sessions on self-care for the volunteers’ own mental health benefit. This vital self-care helps fend off emotional exhaustion.

Filipino citizens are able to use this national COVID-19 hotline to tackle their mental health situations. The hotline provides emotional care, such as talking about callers’ problems. Additionally, it functions as a source of information about COVID-19 to prevent misunderstandings surrounding the pandemic’s uncertainty and hysteria.

The Philippine Red Cross has also extended its services during the pandemic. It has utilized social media as a way to provide a more convenient avenue for people to talk about their hardships. On Facebook, a feature exists that allows Red Cross volunteers to chat through an avatar. The chat even allows avatar customizations, such as male, female, LGBTQ and young child settings according to the callers’ preferences. The Philippines’ hotline has helped over 9,000 callers since its creation and continues to support mental health in the Philippines.

Where Mental Health Currently Stands

The pandemic, social isolation and general fear and uncertainty have affected mental health in the Philippines. Both peoples’ stress and rates of depression continue to increase. The pandemic has resulted in distancing and isolation, which has deeply impacted the Philippines — a country where tight-knit families and community-mindedness abound. However, aid from nonprofit organizations has lessened the devastating effects of the pandemic. Support from UNICEF and the WHO has benefited mental health throughout the nation and fostered a much-needed sense of connection.

– Alyssa Ranola
Photo: Flickr

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NGOs Have Saved Thousands in the Philippines

NGOs Save Thousands in the Philippines
Just a few weeks after Super Typhoon Goni made landfall on the morning of November 11, 2020, Typhoon Vamco hit the Philippines. These tropical storms have destroyed homes, lives, livelihoods, essential infrastructure and families. Without a doubt, the results of these storms have been calamitously tragic. However, NGOs provide inspiration and hope in their work for the victims of these tropical storms. NGOs have saved thousands in the Philippines.

 VAMCO and Goni’s Destruction

 On November 1, 2020, super Typhoon Goni made landfall on Catanduanes’ island before moving north-west over Manila with reported wind speeds of 140mph. Goni – locally referred to as “Rolly”- is one of the most powerful storms to hit the Philippines in over a decade. A few days after the storm hit the Philippines, the damage was staggering: reports determined that the storm killed 16 people, demolished thousands of homes, destroyed tens of thousands of farmers’ crops (estimated damage of $36 million to crops alone) and affected over 2 million people.

Although less intense, Typhoon Vamco had winds measured at 90mph when it made landfall in Patnanungan. Although hard to separate the damage from these two storms, reports stated that Typhoon Vamco – locally known as Ulysses – has killed at least 67 people, cut power to millions, caused 100,000 evacuations and destroyed over 26,000 homes.

Flooding Exasperates the Catastrophe

Unfortunately, as the government can better assess the damages and missing people, and gather an overall better understand of the situation in the coming weeks and months, the financial damage and number of people displaced and killed will grow. However, what might prove to enlarge the numbers more than a better understanding of the situation is the flooding and significant landslides.

As of Nov. 18, the flooding is the worst in recent memory and has affected eight regions and 3 million people, with 70 dead. Two-story-high flooding that has caused power outages has either separated many from their homes or trapped them on their roofs, further disrupting rescue efforts. Although flooding has receded, many villages are still only reachable through the air.

Perhaps the worst affected area is the Cagayan Valley in northeast Luzon; of the 28 towns in the Cagayan province, 24 are underwater from severe flooding. Explaining this disproportionality in flood damage is the fact that a dam in the Cagayan Valley, the Magat Dam, had seven of its gates break open following the storm, causing mass amounts of water to pour into the valley (the dam released near two Olympic sized pools of water per second). Here, over 20 people have died while affecting nearly 300,000 people as what looks like a brown sea of dirty water and debris submerges the valley.

NGOs Step Up for Thousands

In the face of all this destruction, one can find hope in the work of NGOs. NGOs have saved thousands in the Philippines who were either trapped on rooftops or in evacuation centers after losing everything they have ever owned.

For instance, CARE is an organization providing aid during the flooding. It is primarily working in Amulung and Gattaran, assisting in rescue efforts and providing resources such as food, hygiene products, shelter repair kits and sanitation materials.

The Philippine Red Cross is deploying utility vehicles to ferry thousands so that they do not become stranded in flooded towns. Stories have even surfaced of Red Cross workers treading through floodwater with torches searching for stragglers and missing people. The organization provides relief materials to those it does save including tents, generators, food, cooking equipment and tarps. Additionally, as a preventative measure, the Philippine Red Cross evacuated people and animals to evacuation centers while also prepositioning emergency response teams in vulnerable areas.

UNICEF has also done life-saving work. Just a day before Vamco made landfall, UNICEF launched “its Super Typhoon Goni/Rolly appeal amounting to $3.7 million.” With this amount raised, UNICEF has supported the most vulnerable communities in gaining access to water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, education, health and protection services.

Vamco and Goni are tragedies that have negatively affected countless lives through displacement, death and the destruction of their home and valuables. Nonetheless, the optimist can find inspiration in the fact that: NGOs have saved thousands in the Philippines.

– Vincenzo Caporale
Photo: Wikipedia Commons