To fully recognize and formalize the health project for the Indigenous People of Binicalan in San Luis, national and local government agencies gathered on the Province-wide Project launch of the Indigenous People - Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health and Nutrition (IP MNCHN) project held at the Provincial Training Center, Gov. D.O. Plaza Government Center, Prosperidad last October 10.

Headed by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the members of Tagbuligan ku Banwaon Manobo daw Talaandig dini ta Adgawan (TagBaMaTaad) Ancestral Domain and other government agencies such as DepEd, Philippine Army, Philippine National Police, Department of Health, Provincial Health Office, Municipal Health office of San Luis, Media, PhilHealth, SP Nestor Corvera as representative of Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur and other IPs from different municipalities, witnessed and signed the IP MNCHN manifesto.

But day before the signing of the manifesto, Gov. Adolph Edward G. Plaza already signed the said document at the meeting with the IP MNCHN team.

The main goal of IP MNCHN is to give heath-related assistance on the pregnant women and its child after giving birth.

And one of the concerns they talked about is the lack of midwife on said area and in the province. Though currently the organization is sponsoring 5 midwifery grads on their review for the upcoming licensure exam and all of them came from San Luis but still this is not enough to compensate their number.

Thus, Gov. Plaza assures that midwifery will be included to the covered courses for the Provincial Scholarship program, so that all the women will be safe in times of their pregnancy and delivery.

The said project is also aligned to the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2013-01 “Guidelines on the Delivery of Basic Health Services for Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous People” signed by the Secretaries of Department of Health (DOH), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

In which, it will have a very big support from these three national departments and will strongly implemented.

All the participating agencies showed their support by expressing their commitments to the people on the conference hall.

And IP MNCHN will start next year and will run until 2016. But the team assures that they will not stop their health services assistance even after 2016.