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Launching of Iligtas sa Tigdas ang Pinas.

Paranaque City Hall Sports Complex 
 

**Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr of Paranque City, 
**Ms. Kris Aquino – our very special guest
**Dr. John Ehrenberg – WHO WPRO
**Dr. Soe Nyunt  U – WHO Country Office
**Ms. Inna Sacci – Health Pro Project, USAID
Fellow Workers in Government
Colleagues in the Department of Health 
Development Partners – USAID, UNICEF, and WHO
Partners in the Private Sector and Our 
Friends, Ladies, and Gentlemen

A pleasant good morning to everyone.

Today we are launching our nationwide, door-to-door measles immunization campaigned entitled “Iligtas sa Tigdas ang Pinas” which aims to immunize more than 18 Million children aged 9 months to below eight years old, all over the country, from the scourge of TIGDAS, or measles.  We are doing this as part of our commitment to achieve our Millennium Development Goal 4 of reducing infant and child mortality as well as our commitment, in cooperation with our neighbors in the Western Pacific Region, to eliminate measles by 2012. 

From January to March 19 of this year, there were 2-75 measles cases nationwide recorded by the DOH National Epidemiology Center. The cases ranged from 8 days to 85 years old. Five deaths have already been reported which is indeed disheartening because this disease is vaccine preventable and because measles vaccines as part of government’s expanded immunization program, are available at the local health units.

Every year the 9 – 11 months old infants are vaccinated against the measles infection. However, we have seen more and more children that remained unvaccinated. This is problematic because poor coverage results in the accumulation of unvaccinated susceptible infants for infection, resulting in measles outbreaks that occur in different areas of our country.

Previously, we relied on nationwide immunization campaigns to increase the coverage of government’s immunization programs. We launched successful campaigns conducted in 1998, 2004 and 2007, which achieved 95 per cent coverage, a level never achieved by our regular programs. The increasing number of unvaccinated children and the threat of measles in the country have now prompted us to launch this month-long, door-to-door measles immunization campaign.  

Starting today until the 4th of May, the so-called “BAKUNADOORS” or vaccination teams will visit all households across the country. Children aged 9 month old to below 8 years old will be given vaccination for measles as well as for German measles.  This is FREE OF CHARGE. To encourage more participation, each community, or barangay that achieves 100% coverage, will receive a certification as a “Measles-Free Barangay.” It is something that local government executives, like Mayor Bernabe of Paranaque can be very proud of. 

We appeal to all parents, municipal and barangay officials, to join this campaign, and assist our government health workers in immunizing all the children, and rid our communities of the dreaded virus.  It costs only P65 per child per vaccination, and the government has already laid out funds for this.  On the other hand, it will cost a minimum of P15,000 to manage a complicated measles case in hospitals.  We are making the vaccines accessible and available to all children, at no cost, especially in areas where there are armed conflicts, and in far-flung indigenous communities.  Our campaign is apolitical, we care not of your religion, your ideology, your ethnicity.  We care only for the welfare of your child. 

There are major challenges that our country needs to address in terms of improving, sustaining, and continually performing immunization programs. The Department of Health and Local Government Units should strengthen its linkages to ensure that vaccines, not just for measles, are available and accessible at all times. More importantly, we should strive harder to empower families to take charge of their health and to improve their health seeking behaviors. We should better educate them on the value of the cost effective public health interventions on the health and welfare of the family.

Finally, I would like to thank the staff of the Department of Health and the local government of Paranaque City through Mayor Bernabe for making this event possible. Likewise, I recognize our partners – our private sector partner, Proctor and Gamble Philippines and our development partner – World Health Organization, USAID, and UNICEF for their assistance. Finally, I would like to especially express my gratitude to Ms. Kris Aquino who is helping us in this very noble endeavor.  

Again, we reiterate our appeal.  We call on all parents and guardians to submit their children, ages from 9 months to below 8 years old, even those who have been previously vaccinated, for immediate immunization.  We also call on local chief executives, mayors and barangay leaders, to provide dedicated volunteer health workers, to go door-to-door to immunize the children, or transport the BAKUNADOORS from one community to another, provide security escort for these health workers, and also food for the vaccination teams.

We also appeal to private practitioners, doctors, nurses, medical technologists, other medical professionals, both in the public and private sectors, to assist in this noble humanitarian cause.  This is also the best time for media to come to the aid of the nation, through comprehensive media coverage and information dissemination.  A little help goes a long, long way in achieving our target to rid the country of measles.  Let this be our special gift to our children.

Let us rally together to make our country measles-free!  Save the Filipino child!  Save lives!

Thank you and good morning.