JEDDAH, 22 April 2004 — Doctors from Manila are currently conducting surveys and interviews among Filipinos in the Kingdom as part of a wider effort to find out the "overall picture" regarding the health conditions of the Philippines' overseas work force.

The doctors have been sent by the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) under a joint project with the Development and Education of People Towards Health - Reproductive Health (DEPTH-RH) in a bid to "create a more healthy environment for OFWs."

A pair of doctors were assigned to places with large concentration of Filipino workers, including Jeddah, Alkhobar and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; Hong Kong, Rome Singapore, and Taipei.

Assigned to Jeddah were Drs. Lemuel C. Marasigan and Rosalindo L. Losaria, who are now reporting to the labor office (POLO) of the Philippine Consulate.

During their initial meeting with Labor Attach? Nasser Munder recently, Marasigan and Losaria said their specific mission is to find out not just the psycho-social and health problems affecting Filipino workers but also the available health resources and policies of countries hosting them.

Data gathered will be sent to Manila for a thorough analysis. After which, Marasigan said, they should be able to "recommend procedures, policies, and programs to create a more healthy environment for OFWs before, during, after deployment and even after they have come back to the Philippines."

Marasigan and Losaria are consultants of DEPTH-RH, and both are specialists in family medicine. They were both members of the "Doctors to the Barrios Program" in the 1990s, a program of Sen. Juan Flavier, then secretary of health under the Ramos administration. Losaria has worked as an OFW in Jeddah for 10 years. His wife is working as nurse in one of the hospitals in Jeddah.

Last year, Dr. Moreno worked in the consulate as part of a pilot program providing medical services to OFWs not covered by health insurance by their employers. Moreno was recalled to Manila in October when the program ended.