Monday, June 23, 2008
"Philippine Ferry Deaths Reveal More than Typhoon Tragedy"
Anthony Shelley
Reuters reported that rescue efforts for the 800 people missing from the capsized Princess of the Stars ferry near Sibuyan Islands in the Philippines ended today. Only 20 were mentioned to have survived the tragic trip.
What makes this incident especially provoking is the sad fact that safety precautions are rarely taken during inter-island ferry travel in the Philippines. As a predominately poor nation, the lower class are forced to use this method of transportation which usually involves the use of dilapidated ferries.
I've ridden those ferries, traveling from the main island of Luzon to Samar - the experience is very fresh in my memory. Witnessing a typhoon in action is also an event that I won't soon forget either; fortunately, I wasn't present on a boat and traveling out to sea during such bad weather conditions.
The Philippines is a country of great beauty but danger as well. There are basically no rules while traveling the roads. Children constantly risk the chance of getting struck of a vehicle by playing in the streets.Bus drivers speed recklessly to reach their intended destinations before zipping off to other locations and packing on as many people and objects (to the point of excess) on the bus without regards to safety and security.
As long as the Filipino government continues to allow its suffocating atmosphere of corruption to exist, much-needed transportation funding will continue to be ignored, streets will crumble, old ferries will sink, and innocent lives will be lost.
Images courtesy of Reuters.
Friday, June 13, 2008
“Brain Drain in the Philippines”
Nari Corley-Wheeler
IN THE 1970s, THE UNITED STATES HAD A NURSING SHORTAGE. To compensate the US recruited nurses and doctors from the Philippines. IN THE 21ST CENTURY, THE PHILLIPINES IS HAVING A NURSING SHORTAGE. The Philippines must face new health care challenges with the assistance of under-qualified doctors and nurses.
As the demand for nursing in the US is growing rapidly, Philippine candidates are vying for greater economic opportunities regardless the detrimental consequences in their country. As 15,000 Nurses from the Philippines graduate and obtain their licensure, only 1/3 of them remain within their borders.
The appeal to working abroad is multifarious: higher wages, improved standard of living, and an easier and expedited immigration process are each provided visa vie a nursing career.
Unfortunately, the wave of nurses exiting the Philippines will leave the populace in this developing country at a disadvantage in the future as the nurses leaving are the most professional and well-established ones. Experienced nurses are invaluable to any healthcare system as they are the ones educating and preparing the next waves of nurses to come.
With a dramatic loss of nurses in the Philippines, various diseases are ripe for climbing up the charts. Currently, Tuberculosis is one of the greatest causes of death in the Philippines with an astounding rate of TB counts giving the country a rank of 9th worldwide With a presence of educated and experienced nursing, TB could be largely addressed and treated with a larger combative force present (i.e. nurses, not to mention doctors).
This is not an isolated problem in the Philippines, but has become a common thread in Southeast Asian countries and it is to be expected as wages for nursing in the US are about 10x more than in the Philippines. On average, nurses in the US make around $50,000 per year, which would take a nurse in the Philippines ten years to earn.
Nursing schools in the US are intentionally under-funded in terms of their facilities and staff limiting the amount of US students eligible for entry. US nursing schools turn away 42,866 qualified applicants each year from Baccalaureate and Masters’ programs and have limited slots to allot room for doctors and nurses abroad (AACN).
The stakes are high for nurses in the Philippines: whether to stay and aid their developing country while withstanding lower wages than what they’re worth abroad or to leave their country in the throttle of health care crisis in the years to come will be an impending question for the current generation of Nurses.
