HEALTH SECTOR

Health  is everybody’s business.  Its protection and  maintenance requires  knowledge of the forces and diseases that threaten  it.  Health  as  define is a state of physical,  mental,  social  well being and not merely the absence of disease. But  despite  its  wanting and  despite  everybody’s  concern  in health,  still  it is not quite easy to achieve  it  as  defined.  Why? Because of so many factors/reasons.

Health Status

The municipality’s health condition may be said to be quite  good as the Municipal Health records show a low incidence of diseases. Among  the  leading  causes of morbidity  are  bronchitis,  acute respiratory  infection, acute diarrhea and pneumonia.   The  most prevalent sickness in the municipality are of viral and bacterial origin  which may be attributed to malnutrition  among  children, lack  of  sanitary  toilet facilities and  improper  disposal  of waste.

Medical/ Health Facilities and Personnel

At  present,  the medical health force that  serves  the  medical needs  of  Kalawit  consist of one Doctor,  one  Nurse  and  seven Midwives.   The  doctor together with a nurse  and   midwife  are assigned in the Municipal Health Center located in the  Poblacion while  the  5  Midwives are distributed to  handle  the  Barangay Health Centers.

Nutrition

In  its quest to combat malnutrition among infants and  children, Kalawit’s  nutrition  program is continuously undertaken  by  the Municipal Health Office.

The  nutrition  survey  showed that of  the  number  of  children weighed,  there  were  more  malnourished  children  than  normal  children.   Of  the 2,734 children weighed in  2008,  about  1.13 percent  are considered first degree malnourished, 13.28  percent second  degree and 41 percent third degree.  This high  count  of malnutrition may be attributed to the poor feeding practices  and improper  diet due to the lack of knowledge among mothers on  the nutritional value of foods.

Family Planning

The  records of the Municipal Health Office shows  a  significant  increase  in the number of family planning acceptors from 1,008  in the  year 1997 to 1,270 in 2008.  This may be attributed  to  the awakening awareness among married couples of the advantages of  a well-planned family.  Moreover, the family planning methods  used are given free and within easy reach of the acceptors.  Among the family planning methods used in 2008, pills is the most preferred by  the  acceptors  while  the less  preferred  is  Condom.