DOH-ARMM hailed top performer in nat'l vaccination program

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Government medical personnel serving in five isolated southern provinces considered as "tap on the shoulder" the recognition of the Health Department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as this year’s top performer for national vaccination programs.

Eye specialist Kadil Sinolinding Jr., regional health secretary, told reporters Friday that the central office of the Department of Health has recently judged the DOH-ARMM as this year’s "number one" in implementing anti-measles and anti-polio immunization programs.

“This was accomplished despite the security threats that affected the performance of our health workers, inclement weather and mobilization problems in the islands separated by areas,” Sinolinding said.

He said the DOH-ARMM, which covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, recorded, as of October 13, a 102 percent and 101 percent accomplishments in the implementation of the department’s anti-measles and anti-polio campaigns, respectively.

Sinolinding said ARMM health workers have administered anti-measles vaccines to 408, 746 infants and children from January to October 2014.

He said 469,660 children were also given anti-polio vaccines during the period.

“The recognition given to the DOH-ARMM as top performer in carrying out these vaccination thrusts was enough `tap on the shoulder' of every health worker in region. That's how people in our ranks feel about it. It’s a morale booster,” Sinolinding said.

He said credit also has to go to the office of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, which provided extensive support to hasten the regional government’s vaccination activities from January to October this year.

Several ARMM health workers were kidnapped by bandits, in a spate of abductions in the past two years, but the incidents did not dampen the zeal of the department’s nurses, midwives and doctors to continue working in far-flung areas beset with security concerns.

“None of those kidnapped workers ever stopped working or pulled out from their places of assignment after they were set free,” Sinolinding said.

He said his subordinates in the five ARMM provinces and two cities, Lamitan and Marawi, were elated with the recognition from the central office of DOH.