THE Department of Health (DOH), PhilHealth, Department of Education (DepEd), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) signed a joint memorandum circular (JMC) to bring Yakap health services to schools and learning centers nationwide.
The agreement was signed on Oct. 6 by Health Secretary Dr. Edwin Mercado, PhilHealth Acting President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, Education Secretary Sonny Angara, and Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla.
PhilHealth said the program aims to bring preventive health care to schools and learning centers, with all 26 million learners as beneficiaries, along with teachers, non-teaching personnel, and their families.
Yakap, or Yaman ng Kalusugan Program, is a PhilHealth primary care program.
Under the JMC, the Yakap-School Health and Protection Program (SHP) will be rolled out in public and private basic education schools, Community Learning Centers, Child Development Centers, other Early Childhood Care and Development centers and facilities, and Inclusive Learning Resource Centers.
The program will provide access to Yakap on-site clinic services, routine health screenings, outpatient medicines and diagnostic tests, and on-site specialist care for developmental delays.
Health screenings may include vision, hearing, dental, nutritional, psychosocial, and developmental screening, according to the DOH.
The program will also provide referrals for specialty services and developmental care or therapy. Care navigators will help families connect children who need additional checkups or treatment with appropriate health facilities and specialists.
PhilHealth said the program will cover students across all learning levels, including early childhood learners and Alternative Learning System enrollees such as out-of-school children and out-of-school youth.
It will also cover basic education personnel, qualified dependents, and children with special needs or developmental delays and disabilities identified through school- or Inclusive Learning Resource Center-based health screenings.
The inter-agency partnership has three core objectives: expanding access to Yakap, establishing a continuum of care, and strengthening implementation mechanisms through enhanced financing, parental or guardian consent mechanisms for participation in the program, and coordinated service delivery.
Ho said the JMC would allow Yakap to expand from reaching a few million students to targeting all 26 million learners, including teachers, non-teaching staff, and their families.
“This JMC brings to us the opportunity to scale things up — from reaching just a few million students or learners who can benefit from Yakap — we're targeting all 26 million learners, including the teachers and non-teaching staff as well as their families,” Ho said.
She also said the program's implementation in schools could help families understand Yakap and encourage them to participate.
Under the program, parents, guardians and school communities will be invited to school-based orientation and empanelment sessions.
Families may also assign or update their chosen Yakap Clinic through the PhilHealth Member Portal, according to the agency.
The DOH said Yakap-SHP aligns with its Healthy Learning Institutions Program, which recognizes educational institutions as settings for health promotion and integrates health promotion into school policies, services, facilities, and systems.
The program also places emphasis on the early detection and management of developmental delays and disabilities from birth through the school years, PhilHealth said.
PhilHealth said information on Yakap benefits and accredited partner clinics is available through its website or its Action Center at (02) 8662-2588.
