DOH, private sector join hands to fight pneumonia in Caraga region

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines — The regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) and the private sector have agreed to join hands in fighting pneumonia, the leading cause of mortality for children under age five in the Caraga region.

At the press briefing here last Sunday, Dr. Rowenda Dimaano, president of the Community Pediatrics Society of the Philippines-Caraga Chapter, said that being the head of a pediatricians’ group in Caraga where about 50 percent of the population is poor, her group wanted to make sure to maximize the growth of children of the poorest of the poor by providing them with vaccine against pneumonia, otherwise known as the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

The government has also tapped the Agusan del Norte-Butuan City Medical Society.

Another group, the Philippine Vaccination Foundation (PVF) was also tapped not only for the Caraga region but also for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for the “DOHbol Time Laban sa Pulmonya,” wherein children aged six weeks to two years will be vaccinated against pneumonia.

PVF national president Dr. May Montellano said one of their foundation’s dream programs is a nationwide information and education campaign on vaccination as one of the top preventive measures in fighting the spread of pneumonia among infants and children under age five.

“The key here is to intensify public advocacy about the necessity and urgency in immunizing Filipino children, especially those in poor urban and rural areas where children living are most vulnerable to the disease,” Montellano said.

Initially launched last year, the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is now part of the regular vaccines to be given to infants below age one. 

The integration of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and the rotavirus vaccine, which was introduced in 2010, is a milestone in the government’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).

The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine will address the need for better protection of infants against pneumococcal pneumonia.

The EPI has upgraded its services since its inception in 1976. Republic Act 10152 or the Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Law was passed four years ago, mandating free immunization in government hospitals and health centers for children aged five and below.

The Caraga region was among the first three regions that received the rotavirus vaccine in 2010 and was chosen for the initial implementation of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to complement the rotavirus vaccination. 

The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is free. It costs around P2,050 per full vaccination (three doses) per child.

Dr. Minerva Molon, DOH-Caraga regional director, said involving the private sector in the fight against pneumococcal pneumonia would somehow address pneumonia cases in the region.

Molon sought the help of the media to explain to the public the importance of vaccination of children and infants.

As one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, GSK is supporting “DOHbol Time Laban sa Pulmonya” as part of its commitment in improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

GSK’s pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is the chosen vaccine that will be administered to the children of Caraga as part of the DOPH’s Expanded Program on Immunization.

GSK’s vaccine has also been selected for use in national immunization and reimbursement programs in more than 40 countries. The vaccine has shown to be highly effective and demonstrated 93-100 percent effective in preventing the disease.

“With the help of the DOH and the local government units, we are committed to the reduction of pneumonia cases nationwide by supplying the vaccines. This silent killer accounts for an alarming 37 mortalities per day in the Philippines,” said GSK medical director Philip Cruz.