The overseas Filipino nurses

AS a country, we always celebrate the positive impact of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their contribution to our economy through their remittances. The World Bank provides remittances data for the Philippines from 1977 to 2018. The average value for the Philippines during that period was 7.16 percent, with a minimum of 1.73 percent in 1977 and a maximum of 13.32 percent in 2005. The latest value from 2018 is 10.22 percent. For comparison, the world average in 2018 based on 170 countries was 4.93 percent (www.theglobaleconomy.com/Philippines/remittancespercent_GDP/).

The diaspora of Filipino nurses is a beautiful story to tell, and this story needs to continue. To me, the contribution of our OFWs, particularly the nurses, to our gross domestic product is just the icing on the cake. What we need to recognize more is the fact that the nurses we have sent to countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, etc., have actually created a unique value in their healthcare ecosystem. Our nurses have saved countless lives. In my article on Nov. 14, 2019 about Filipino nurses in the UK, I narrated with pride the success stories of our kababayan (countrymen) there. We have thriving Filipino communities throughout the UK where Filipino nurses are welcomed, valued and appreciated by all. They have put the Philippines on the map as a premier source of well-educated, much-liked and trusted health care professionals. We should not forget this, and particularly during this unprecedented crisis, I believe it is prudent that we show that we do care for them. They deserve to know that.