PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan (PIA) -- The Department of Health (DOH) is set to present the conceptualized health plan to the provincial government of Palawan in May with the aim of eradicating malaria cases in the province by 2026.
Oscar Macam, Jr., DOH-CHD Vector Borne Disease Program Manager, said during the Kapihan sa PIA at SM City Puerto Princesa that the plan called Palawan Malaria Accelerated Elimination and Sustainability Plan (PMAESP) will be consolidated by DOH and presented to Palawan Gov. Dennis Socrates by around the third week of May.
The plan was conceptualized by the joint efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO), DOH-Center for Health Development (CHD) Mimaropa, Palawan Provincial Health Office (PHO), and Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI).
“Nagkaroon ng medium-term plan kami ngayon, kasama ng ating health workers at partners para ilatag. Kasi kailangan by 2026 dapat ma-zero ang kaso rito sa Palawan para by 2030 ay lahat ng probinsya ma-declare na (malaria-free). Nakasalalay ang kahihinatnan kung madideclare ang Pilipinas,” he said.
[We had a medium-term plan, including our health workers and partners, to discuss it. We need to zero out cases in Palawan by 2026, so by 2030, all provinces will be declared malaria-free. The declaration of the Philippines relies on it.]
The country should have no active cases for five years before it can be declared malaria-free by 2030, as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, Macam said. Palawan is the only province in the country with malaria active cases reaching 1,000 to date.
Local health worker shows the sample kit used for diagnostic testing in Rizal, Palawan.
The plan also contains a list of the activities of health workers in executing the plan against malaria, which also covers cases in indigenous communities. Around 99 percent of the population of the community tested positive for malaria, the department recorded.
“Ito ay nilatag lahat ng activities na gagawin ng rural health units, ng ating partners. Hindi lang health sectors, kasama na lahat ng sectors dito sa Palawan,” he said.
[All activities to be done by rural health units and partners have been laid down. Not only health sectors; it also includes all sectors in Palawan.]
Macam added that DOH aligns its strategies more with case surveillance and balances its fund allocation with spraying. It has also provided additional compensation to barangay health workers who conduct rapid diagnostic testing. (RG/PIA Mimaropa - Palawan)
BANNER PHOTO COURTESY OF PALAWAN PDOHO
