Mosquito surge

The mosquito surge in some parts of Manila, including my village in Barrio Ugong, Pasig, continues to inflict such irritating itches, us residents are just furious, we can hardly have a good night’s sleep.

We can’t sleep at night as the insect creeps into our screened rooms, and squeeze into tiny spaces in our mosquito nets (see how far backward we’ve sunk!). During the day, mosquitoes are flying and biting like crazy in our homes and gardens. We’ve swept department store shelves clean of insect repellents and zapper rackets, are able to swap some, but there seems to be millions appearing again. News reports say the health people are telling us to keep our homes clean, and we do, some of our kitchens are so clean you can sleep on the floor.

We’re told the infestation is caused by Pasig river’s being clogged with water hyacinths and by weather change. This problem has been with us since time immemorial. But this time, the situation is more terrible than ever before. So what are the DOH and our local government units doing to stop the nasty lilies from multiplying themselves like the Philippine population? Should this not be a concern of environmentalist Pasig-river queen Gina Lopez too?  Some fumigating activities are being done in villages, but when the fumigating teams leave, the pesky mosquitoes are back in operation again. But not to worry, Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, DOH program manager on dengue and emerging infectious diseases said at an Unang Hirit interview, they’re not the fatal dengue type, just rub some lotion on the bitten parts.

And Suy’s chief, Dr. Eric Tayag, assistant health secretary and head of the National Epidemiology Center, said in his Twitter account that the explosion of the mosquito population involves “the less nasty ones, ” and that “House mosquitoes, e.c. culex, do not spread dengue or Chikugunya.”

Do the good doctors live in the mosquito-infected areas?

*      *      *

Talking about the well-being of the population in Yolanda-stricken areas, the Philippine government, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have focused attention on rebuilding what is called the cold chain structure.

The super typhoon damaged health care infrastructure, and cold chain equipment and vaccines were destroyed.

As explained to us, cold chain is a system used for keeping and distributing vaccines in a condition that retains its ability to give protection against disease. The cold chain consists of a series of storage and transport links, which are all designed to keep the vaccine at the correct temperature until it reaches the user, namely children and mothers in need of immunization. With most of the affected areas being destroyed more than 1.8 million affected children are at risk of disease and death.

UNICEF and WHO are supporting the Philippine government to reestablish its national immunization program in Yolanda-affected areas, and make it disaster-resilient, providing equipment that will be able to withstand future calamities.

UNICEF will assist 450 DOH health care facilities at different levels by providing them with earthquake and typhoon resistant cold chain equipment; including 5,000 temperature monitoring devices, 4,000 vaccine carriers, 800 cold boxes, 400 back-up generator systems, 150 ice-lined refrigerators, 50 solar-powered refrigerators and 200 Sure Chill freezers running on an innovative cooling technology, allowing them to operate for more than ten days without electricity. Additionally, 16 walk-in cold rooms for vaccine storage will be constructed at the regional and provincial levels, supported by three million doses of measles-rubella and oral polio vaccines. Based on in-depth assessment of short term requirements for routine immunization in affected regions, the equipment donation is budgeted at $8 million.

WHO together with UNICEF has also trained health workers to improve vaccine and cold chain management.

Within the third week of the crisis, WHO delivered 16 solar-powered vaccine refrigerators to key points in Leyte to enable autonomous storage of vaccine stock replenishment from the Department of Health’s warehouses. These refrigerators were supplied by DFID (Department of International Development (UK), and flown directly from Oxfordshiper to Mactan International Airport in Cebu on board a Royal Air Force C17 transport jet. From Mactan, WHO logisticians transported the solar powered refrigerators to Tacloban via a Korean Air Force C130 transport. Even without electric power or generator sets, these contained devices restored the cold chain capability of some parts of Leyte, thereby enabling the DOH to conduct its as immunization effort in late November.

WHO also provided a million doses of measles/rubella vaccine for the DOH program, along with AD mixing syringes and safety boxes, and two domestic refrigerators for use in Tacloban.

*      *      *

In line with the 2014 celebration of Women’s Month, the UP Sigma Alpha Sorority Alumnae Association, Inc. and the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) have partnered to organize a “Run for Women’s Education.”

The event, to be held on April 5 at Roxas Boulevard in Manila, is a fund-raising activity aimed at helping deserving and underprivileged women obtain good quality education through the grant of scholarships in state universities and colleges, and for livelihood and skills training for those who not qualify for formal education.

Sigma Alphan Sally de la Paz-Magat says the run is recognized as an official activity by the Civil Service Commission (CSC). It is projected to register at least 1,500 runners, with a registration fee of P300 each. The start and finish of the lines of the run will be at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, with the “race track” stretching until the Buendia flyover along Roxas boulevard.

The UP Sigma Alpha Sorority Alumnae Association is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the mission of promoting an active and effective role for women in bringing changes to society.

The ACPC is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture. It strives to observe every year the holding of activities promoting corporate social responsibility. Its participation in organizing the run for women’s education highlights its commitments under the Gender and Development (GAD) program. The event is also timed with the ACPC’s anniversary month in April.

*      *      *

E-mail: [email protected]