LINGAYEN, Pangasinan —Some 1,500 indigent parents and kids aged zero to five years old from four towns in this province were given free medical treatment on Tuesday at the holding of Lakbay Buhay Kalusugan (LBK), a comprehensive health promotion caravan of the Department of Health (DOH).

The second in a series of 10 destinations nationwide, the LBK caravan here heightened awareness on health care among residents of Lingayen, Bugallon, Binmaley and Labrador where prenatal consultation is not as widely resorted to compared to urban centers and major cities and towns of the country.

“Caring for pregnant women is a celebration of life,” said Asuncion Anden, director of the health department’s National Center for Health Promotion (NCHP).

The caravan features a bus as a mobile counseling and examination clinic, an interactive health exhibit, sing-and-dance sessions, storytelling and games on health.

According to Anden, the fun-filled activities promote crucial health messages on the importance of prenatal check-ups, birth planning, safe pregnancy and delivery, proper nutrition, child immunization and proper hygiene.

Launched in March in Capas, Tarlac, where over 1,000 Aetas were recipients of the program, LBK is described by Health Secretary Enrique Ona as “an excellent vehicle to show Filipinos that they are the drivers of their own health.”

Provincial administrator Rafael Baraan who represented Gov. Amado Espino Jr. at the opening activities said the governor had long desired that every pregnant Pangasinense mother must deliver in a hospital.

This advocacy, Baraan said, is being pursued with the continuing effort of the provincial government to construct more upgraded hospital facilities.