Barangay health emergency teams retrain to cope with COVID-19

October 26, 2020

A total of 46, 621 Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) nationwide have begun their retraining to ensure effective local COVID-19 management and response in the communities, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Monday.

The DILG and Department of Health (DOH) launched the “Barangay Health Emergency Response Team is our First Responders in Ending N-COV Diseases” or BHERT-FRIENDS Project.

This seeks to enhance the knowledge and skills of BHERTs in their mandated duties and to strengthen their capacities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DILG said enhancing the skills and capacities of the over 46,000 BHERTS in the country is needed to ensure they can respond to the needs of the communities amid the pandemic.

In partnership with the Alliance for Improving Health Outcomes and the Asia Foundation, the joint project will also equip frontliners on the ground with actionable information through the BHERTS Pocket Guide, written in Filipino, which will be distributed to all teams.

Community-level action points are also included to guide them on when to refer a person to a hospital, how to conduct case investigation, contact tracing, case monitoring and tips for reintegration, and reducing stigma.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier said the only way to maintain the momentum in the number of COVID-19 cases is to ensure BHERTs are functioning well.

“They are our first line of defense,” Año said.

He said BHERTs are taskedto conduct health promotions and education in the barangay, implement minimum health standards, conduct contact tracing at the household level, and monitor COVID-19 cases under home quarantine daily.

Under DILG Memorandum Circular 2020-023, LGUs must organize BHERTS at the minimum ratio of one team for every 5,000 population, and mobilize them to help implement prevention and mitigation, preparedness, and response measures for COVID-19.

Each BHERT is composed of one executive officer, a barangay tanod, and two barangay health workers, one of them a nurse or a midwife, and ideally, they are equipped with protective gear such as surgical gowns, goggles, masks, and gloves.

DILG encouraged everyone not to rely on BHERTs , but to help the country through self-discipline by following minimum health standards. Ella Dionisio/DMS