Vicks’ #TouchOfCare campaign creates awareness for children infected with HIV

(Manila, Philippines) A strong follow up from its 2018 #TouchOfCare video, Vicks once again releases another true-to-life story on the transformative power of care, to celebrate the extraordinary stories of the people who have lived it by their actions. This time, it centers on a child infected with HIV and a woman whose love and care paved way for the transformation of both their lives. This is a powerful story that aims to challenge current beliefs, social norms, definitions, and stereotypes; a bold move aimed to address issues on discrimination.

Forbes Travel Guide Visits Marco Polo Ortigas Manila

In celebration of its third consecutive Five-Star Award, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila recently welcomed Forbes Travel Guide Chief Executive Officer Filip Boyen, together with Vice President for External Services Peter Kressaty, and Vice President for Asia Pacific Ryo Koike, last 9 March 2019. The hotel is the first non-gaming property in the country to receive this highly-coveted award three years in a row.

Gender gap amongst digital remittance senders to the Philippines narrows by almost 20% in five years

New data from WorldRemit shows huge uptake in its online money transfer service
among Filipino women abroad 

 

WorldRemit celebrates the contribution female OFWs make as gender gap in digital remittance narrows by almost 20% in five years

Manila and London, 8 March 2019 - To mark International Women’s Day, leading online money transfer service WorldRemit celebrates the contribution Filipino women living and working abroad make to their home country. New data reveals that the gender gap for sending digital money transfers to the Philippines has rapidly closed by almost 20% in five years.

Filipinos living abroad sent home a record $33 billion (PhP1.72 trillion) in 2018, making the Philippines the third largest remittance receiving country in the globe. This makes up about 10% of the country’s GDP - the highest share in the region.

New WorldRemit research reveals:

●      The proportion of females sending digital money transfers to the Philippines via WorldRemit has grown by 10%, compared to the global average of 7%.

●      35% of WorldRemit’s customers sending to the Philippines are female, compared to 25% in 2014.

●      Despite the global gender gap, female overseas workers from the Philippines send a greater share of remittances compared their male counterparts, and they rank education as the most important reason for sending remittances.*

Of the 10 million Filipinos currently working abroad, approximately 55% are now women with many living in countries such as the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Money sent from mothers, sisters, and aunts living abroad helps millions of families in the Philippines pay for essential needs such as healthcare and education. 

Globally, women represent approximately half of all remittance senders and tend to send a higher proportion of their income despite earning less than men. Evidence suggests that, although female migrants tend to earn less than their male counterparts, they send a higher proportion of their income home more frequently.

Digital money transfer companies are improving women’s access to remittances and helping their money go further. WorldRemit enables the Filipino diaspora to send money home in a few taps from their phones without having the travel to an agent, lowering costs and increasing speed and convenience.

As WorldRemit celebrates International Women’s Day, the company is offering new customers zero fees on their first transfer to The Philippines. Customers just have to use the code IWD when making payment to avail of this deal. Ts and Cs here: https://www.worldremit.com/iwd

“Ensuring digital inclusion for financial services for Filipino women living at home and abroad is critically important, as we know that when women thrive, families, businesses and local economies thrive too,” says Michael Liu, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific at WorldRemit. “Our data shows that women play an increasingly vital role in development of The Philippines by sending money home to support education, cover healthcare costs, make investments, and more. At WorldRemit, we’re committed to simplifying that process, and making it faster, cheaper and easier to send and receive remittances.”

WorldRemit customers complete over 1.3 million transfers every month from over 50 countries to over 145 destinations.

Visit the WorldRemit website for more information on how to send money to the Philippines.

  END

Notes to Editors

*Based on a study of 1,000 Filipino WorldRemit customers.

Calculating the gender gap:

	Male	Female	Gender Gap
% of WorldRemit customers sending to the Philippines (2014)	75%	25%	50%
% of WorldRemit customers sending to the Philippines (2018)	65%	35%	30%

The gender gap between male and female WorldRemit customers sending to the Philippines between 2014 and 2018 has narrowed by 20%.

About WorldRemit

WorldRemit is changing the way people send money.

 It’s easy – just open the app or visit the website – no more agents.

●      Transfers to most countries are instant – send money like an instant message.

●      More ways to receive (Mobile Money, bank transfer, cash pickup, and mobile airtime top-up).

●      Available in over 50 countries and more than 145+ destinations.

●    Backed by Accel Partners and TCV – investors in Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and Slack.

PhilHealth implements enhanced Newborn Care Package

In support of the National Comprehensive Newborn Screening System, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Inc. (PhilHealth) recently expanded its coverage of essential health services for newborns. In its PhilHealth Circular No. 2018-0021, which took effect on January 5, 2019, the PhilHealth introduced the enhanced Newborn Care Package, increasing the amount of coverage from P1,750 to P2,950 which pays for supplies for essential newborn care such as Vitamin K, eye ointment, vaccines for hepatitis B and BCG; expanded Newborn Screening test; Newborn Hearing Screening Test; and fees for attending professionals.   Newborn screening is a public health program that aims to detect at the earliest stage certain congenital conditions that may lead to mental retardation or morbidity if left untreated. The newborn screening program in the Philippines started in 1996 as a concerted effort of 24 hospitals in Metro Manila.  The national implementation of the program came after the signing of the Republic Act 9288 or the Newborn Screening Act of 2004 which mandates that every baby born in the Philippines be given the opportunity to undergo newborn screening and thus be spared from heritable conditions that can lead to mental retardation and death if left undetected and untreated.

In 2014, through the DOH Administrative Order No. 2014-0045, expanded Newborn Screening was implemented increasing the panel of disorders from six (6) to more than twenty (20) disorders falling under various types of conditions namely: disorders of amino acid metabolism, organic acid metabolism, disorders of fatty acid oxidation, carbohydrate metabolism, biotin metabolism, as well as cystic fibrosis, hemoglobinopathies and endocrine disorders. This important move is foreseen to benefit many Filipino newborns who would otherwise remain undiagnosed with the basic 6-test. The PhilHealth Circular provides that the enhanced package shall be dispensed to qualified newborns delivered in all accredited health care institutions that perform deliveries and provide newborn care which include hospitals, infirmaries/dispensaries, and birthing homes/lying-in clinics. To ensure entitlement to the said benefit, newborns need to be in the facility for at least 24 hours after birth except those who warrant immediate referral to a higher level facility. The state health insurer encouraged all active and expecting PhilHealth members to avail of the said package in order to provide newborns with the needed services that will help reduce morbidity and mortality while reducing health care costs associated with treatment of lifelong debilitating conditions.

Get your newborn screened! Visit www.newbornscreening.ph or ask your health attendant about expanded newborn screening.