CALAMBA CITY, Laguna (PIA) – Regional hospitals and other health facilities in the Calabarzon region are working to ensure a steady water and energy supply as El Niño reaches its peak.
Nurse Lancellot Villareal, Assistant Manager for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management for Health (DRRM-H) said the Department of Health (DOH) has advised hospitals and other healthcare facilities to adopt measures to mitigate the effects of El Niño on the health sector.
Villareal affirmed that hospitals and other health facilities in the region are committed to provide consistent and ample water and energy supply to sustain vital service delivery.
“This is included in their respective DRRM-H plans which require them to prepare enough drinking and domestic-use water that can last for at least three (3) days,” Villareal said in a meeting with the region’s El Niño Team.
The Health Department continuously coordinates with water concessionaires, local government units, and local water service providers in prioritizing health facilities for early water reserve allocations.
“We also suggested to them to coordinate with their local water concessionaires and local BFP [Bureau of Fire Protection] that in times of low water supply, they will be prioritized in the provision of water supply,” she said.
The health official adds that hospitals must also initiate water management strategies on storing, reusing, and sourcing alternatives, reducing water loss, and securing water sources during emergencies.
“We are expecting that water and energy supply in our hospitals and Rural Health Units to last for at least three (3) days. This includes gasoline needed to keep their generators running.”
In 2017, the Health Department released its Administrative Order 2017-0010 to set the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water, including drinking water quality, water sampling methods, distribution of drinking water, evaluation, quality control for water laboratories and, Water Safety Plan and Drinking-water Quality Surveillance.
With the higher temperature and low water supply, the DOH said they are expecting a rise in infectious, dermatologic, food and waterborne, or systemic illnesses due to prolonged exposure to heat and unsafe access to bodies of water such as cholera, typhoid fever, Hepatitis A, Rotavirus, Parasitic shellfish poisoning, and dysentery.
Villareal warns, “Diarrhea is very common among these diseases. That is why we are also encouraging our facilities to be prepared to address these diseases, such as training their staff and procurement of medicines.”
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the Calabarzon region may experience weather conditions ranging from dry to drought by the end of November, with the provinces of Batangas and Cavite experiencing drought conditions by December this year. (PB)
