This is aside from other investments in the health sector the city has completed, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said.
During her State of the City Address on March 17, Duterte-Carpio shared that the initial budget will be used for the land development of the hospital, which will be located in Mintal inside the grounds of the University of the Philippines Mindanao.
In the past years, Davao City has invested significantly in the health sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes the establishment of key health facilities, such as the Covid-19 Cluster Clinics, Los Amigos Molecular Laboratory, and the Davao City Crematorium.
These health facilities, which opened during the height of the pandemic, are a crucial part of the Covid-19 response of the city. The Cluster Clinics provide different services related to Covid-19, the Los Amigos Molecular Laboratory processes reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, and the crematorium provides free services for deceased Covid-19 victims.
“Davao City Crematorium at the Wireless Cemetery, which has since provided free cremation services to nearly 300 cadavers. We are also building the Tagakpan cemetery that has designated areas for Muslims and Christians,” Duterte-Carpio said during her speech.
The Mental Wellness Center for the Homeless facility inside the Southern Philippines Medical Center-Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine compound was also inaugurated in January 2022. It will serve as a haven for unfortunate mentally-challenged individuals.
“We (will) provide food, clothing, shelter and medical services to mentally-challenged vagrants,” Duterte-Carpio said.
Before the inauguration of the building, the homeless and mentally challenged population of the city was temporarily housed at the Pasalubong Center to protect them from possible infection of Covid-19.
“At the height of the pandemic, when everyone was encouraged to stay home, we saw that there was a segment of our population left on the streets — the homeless mentally challenged individuals. And so we temporarily set up the Mental Wellness Center at the Pasalubong Center to provide them shelter and to address the stigma surrounding mental health,” Duterte-Carpio said.
At the same time, the Lingap para sa Mahirap continues to give medical assistance to Dabawenyos while expanding satellite offices outside of the city center in Paquibato and Bunawan in the Second District, and Marilog and Toril in the Third District.
The Lingap assistance is also accessible online and via their office at the Southern Philippines Medical Center.
Other health facilities that were opened include the Marilog District Hospital in February 2021, which has a 10-bed capacity, 14 medical services, and 73 medical and non-medical staff. A total of 84 health centers were built between 2016 and 2021.
