Lingap para sa Kalusugan ng Sambayanan - LIKAS

The need for sufficient allocation of limited resources of the country to health is a general problem of our society. This is juxtaposed with the growing commercialization causing unaffordability, inaccessibility, and unavailability of facilities and services. The inadequacy of information and education of the people on hygiene and proper management of the simplest symptoms and the more complex diseases, however, paradoxically leads to over-dependence to health professionals and urban centers, consequently bypassing the people’s potential for self-reliance. We believe that the health problems of society in general mirrors and is rooted in the bigger context in the political, economic and cultural situation of the country. We envision a health situation wherein greater importance is given to prevention and not to treatment of all illnesses and diseases. All these efforts shall be geared towards the empowerment of the people in responding to the needs of their own community. We believe that such change in the current health situation can be achieved in a didactic and scientific manner. To achieve this, the students of the group shall always and primarily aim for academic excellence and medical competence. By interacting and discussing with the members of the community, however, we can supplement learning in the academe and clinics with folk knowledge not contrary and in fact useful in the treatment. We aim to build a community of students in the health and allied sciences who continuously help each other in understanding and responding to the present health situation of the country on a personal and organizational level. As such, we declare as a group that we take the responsibility of helping people in depressed communities to cope with their basic and health needs by educating them. We will make this possible be consequently enriching our skills and knowledge through education and training in the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the Ospital ng Maynila.