Press Release/21 January 2008

Information is power.

The Department of Health (DOH) today turned over dengue information resources to the education and local government departments and the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, to add more power to their capabilities in helping curtail the dengue problem in the country, as the DOH launched its 2008 National Anti-Dengue Campaign.

“The fight against dengue is not a DOH battle alone. We have allies in this war from the local front, most notable are the Departments of Education (DepEd) and Interior and Local Governments (DILG) and the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, and we have to reinforce the instruments to their fight by giving them more ammunition in the form of education materials,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

The health chief said that apart from local partners, there are also international agencies that are helping the DOH. Two of these supporters are the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“Among the things that we turned over today to DepEd are flip-charts/posters and audio visual presentations funded by the ADB and WHO, respectively; and calendars, that were also financed by the ADB, to the DILG and Liga,” Duque noted.

He explained that the flip-charts, posters and audio visual presentation will be used by DepEd in their health education classes, while the calendars will be posted by DILG and Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas in their affiliated barangay halls and health centers.

“Disseminating information is the key to solve the dengue menace. The public should be told that the best and most cost effective preventive strategy is source reduction. They should be taught specifically to search for artificial containers that can hold clean and stagnant water because it would be a possible breeding site for the Aedes Aegypti, the mosquitoes that sow dengue,” Duque stressed.

The DOH chief said that the reason why the government is launching its dengue campaign at this early part of the year aside from to prepare for its peak season is because the disease has also recently become an all-year-round public health threat. Last year, there were 43,938 cases and 407 deaths reported from January to December 8.

“The occurrence and spread of dengue are now not only confined to the known wet and rainy months of the year anymore because in some parts of the country, rain comes even during the dry season and summer time. Hence, the possibility of having more breeding grounds than the usual is high and very likely. And we all know what could happen next: the inevitable increase of dengue cases,” Duque explained.

The health chief reiterated that all these endeavors are not going to work without the help from the public.

“We can beat and outsmart dengue. But our success will largely depend on the willingness of our people to help and cooperate with the campaign. The community needs to actively participate in the search and destruction of unnecessary containers where these killer mosquitoes breed. We will win this battle if we will fight this together,” Duque concluded.