Women’s Month and Mother’s Day – yearly celebrations which pertain to uplifting women’s equality, health and spirit amongst other may have gone by, but I personally feel that it should be celebrated every single day. It’s not like we should only keep them in mind when the occasions are near nor empower them on the specific days.
March is traditionally celebrated as International Women’s Month. I was able to take part in ManilaMed’s #SheFeelsBetter campaign. The aim was to prioritize women’s health and empower them with accurate health information. The good people over at ManilaMed even have “The Center for Women’s Health” – a special division dedicated to women which have an OB Ultrasound, Breast Ultrasound Center, Fertility Enhancement Center, Maternal & Fetal Medicine, and Colposcopy & Cryotherapy Center. It’s like a one-stop shop where women can have themselves diagnosed and get treatments.
Since ManilaMed is so passionate about this advocacy, they held the #SheFeelsBetter campaign last March at Plaza Rueda, just across the hospital. During the celebration of Women’s Month, ManilaMed brought out the word by having a simple event where nearby schools like Araullo High School, Emilio Aguinaldo College, and Santa Isabel College were engaged in a poster making contest.
The theme of the poster making contest coincides with the theme of ManilaMed for Women’s Month – #SheFeelsBetter campaign. Each and every student who joined poured their hearts and ideas out to give their best interpretations.
Women’s health is an important topic that has been neglected in the past, and to further represent Filipino women as well as to heighten the awareness, ManilaMed also made this dedication wall adorned with flowers where people can share their thoughts for women by completing the sentence: “A True Filipina is…”.
I, of course, joined and hung my card. I just hope that be there a dedication wall or not, people should always remember that we, women, from all walks of life, need an equal medical attention. That women also have many of the same diseases as men, though their symptoms and treatments may not always be the same.
That aside from medical, women should benefit from quality health services and attain the best possible level of health including:
– unequal power relationships between men and women;
– social norms that decrease education and paid employment opportunities;
– an exclusive focus on women’s reproductive roles; and
– potential or actual experience of physical, sexual and emotional violence.
Breast and cervical cancers are two of the most common cancers affecting women today. Early detection is the key to keeping women alive and healthy. According to the latest global figures, each year half a million women die from cervical cancer and another half a million from breast cancer. Many of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries where screening, prevention, and treatment are almost non-existent, and where the HPV vaccine has yet to take hold.
Think about your mothers and sisters, just imagine what will happen to them if they will not get the same medical treatments or be prevented from availing equal benefits. Let’s fight against all forms of socio-cultural practices that impede women’s progress!
For more information, you may contact ManilaMed 02-5238131 local 3100/3101 or visit their website http://manilamed.com.ph/
Facebook: facebook.com/ManilaMed
Twitter: twitter.com/ManilaMed_
Instagram: @manilamed
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/manilamed
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