Okay, class, your lesson for today is preventive health education. Picture elementary, high school, and college students tackling preventive healthcare as part of the curriculum.
The hearty piece of news is that the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) has laid the groundwork for integrating health in the curricula of all public and private schools in the country.
It was on PCP’s initiative that Executive Order No. 595 — a.k.a. Health Education Reform Order of 2006 or HERO of 2006 — was signed last year, allowing PCP to form a working committee composed of representatives from the Department of Education, Department of Health, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Science and Technology, and the Philippine Medical Association.
Yes, everybody needs a HERO. Says Dr. Rodolfo Tamse, chair of the PCP Special Projects Committee, “We need to move the new Senate and Congress of the Philippines to pass the long overdue policy of national healthcare and the adoption of preventive health education. The individual Filipino’s health is the nation’s true wealth and capital. This is the turnkey to our push for a better quality of life for the nation and excellent quality of professional medical service.”
HERO mandates that “education and common diseases awareness program shall cover the health curriculum of primary, secondary, and collegiate levels all over the country.” It aims to review the curriculum of medical and nursing schools for the integration of relevant subjects such as public and community health, leadership, ethics and health economics, all of which will better equip and inspire future healthcare leaders to serve the country and help alleviate the healthcare situation.
Sec. 3 of HERO states that modules on basic preventive healthcare for the top causes of morbidity and mortality will be integrated into the curricula of all private and public elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities in the Philippines. Thus, the existing health curricula of these schools will be refocused from the curative to the preventive aspects of the top causes of morbidity and mortality in the country or in the locality.
HERO calls on the support of physicians in every locality to extend medical service to teachers and students, who may not have had the opportunity to undergo a medical checkup in the past. Doctors will teach the teachers and train them on the causes and prevention of the most common illnesses that plague the Filipinos today. Teachers will then teach these modules to their students, empowering children and their families to cope with preventable diseases like dengue, pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, as well as manage factors related to killer diseases like heart disease, lung disorders, and cancer.
So, kids, get ready for a quiz tomorrow.
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Cool back-to-school tips
As students prepare to troop back to school (sigh!), the environmental groups Add Up! Volunteers and the EcoWaste Coalition have teamed up to come up with a list of eco-tips that can guide parents and students in preventing trash and saving precious money for back-to-school needs. By coming up with “green tips,” Add Up! and the EcoWaste Coalition hope to tackle the twofold challenges of stretching the tight family budget for education in the light of the purchasing pressure, and minimizing the waste and pollution from impulsive consumption.
“Every time you buy something,” the groups implore, “be aware of the fact that fossil fuel energy has gone into producing that item and getting it to you. The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gas, and petrol to produce the energy is driving climate change.”
By following the “green tips” the two groups have thoughtfully put together, consumers can delay or eliminate the need to extract more raw materials and manufacture new products, consequently reducing the demand for fossil fuels and minimizing the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.
School Books
• Check with your schoolmates and friends if they have textbooks and reference materials that you can borrow. If the assigned textbooks are the same edition as last year’s, try to borrow from someone your senior. Remember to take extra care of these borrowed books and to return them at the end of the school year.
• If you need to buy books, why not comb the second-hand bookstores first on the university belt to cut down on book expenses? Reusing books saves money and reduces waste.
• Reuse magazine covers, gift wrappers or grocery bags to cover your books to keep them in good condition and to cut on waste.
• Take care of your books and refrain from writing or drawing on them unless needed so you can pass clean books to friends and relatives next year.
• Donate your old fiction and non-fiction books and textbooks to school or community libraries, and share the light of knowledge with marginalized children.
School Supplies
• Before heading to your favorite store or to Divisoria for the bagsak-presyo school opening sale, first sort through your stuff and list what you already have as many of them can still be reused or recycled.
• Gather the clean sheets from your old notebooks and rewire or sew them to create your own personalized notebooks. Reuse scrap paper as lecture or research notes.
• If you have to shop for new school supplies, look for products that are made from recycled materials.
• Read the product labels and choose non-toxic products that are safer to health and the environment.
• Patronize locally-produced school supplies, and avoid cheap imports that have now flooded the market. You do not only support the local industry but also help lessen the fossil fuel energy used to transport things.
• Select durable school supplies that can be easily reused, recycled, repaired or refilled for many years to come, such as refillable pens and notebooks, and reusable folders and binders. This will help reduce the amount of discards that are thrown into the bin.
School Uniforms
• Try on your old set of uniforms first before thinking of buying new ones. Go to your neighborhood modista for the minor alterations that may be required or if you can, do it yourself.
• Instead of buying a new pair of shoes, your old ones may work just fine. Have the defects, if any, fixed by your friendly, good old sapatero or Mr. Quickie at minimal cost.
School ‘baon’
• Bring your own reusable water jug so you don’t have to buy bottled water and sugar-filled beverages and juices.
• Bring native kakanin and healthy food for snacks packed in reusable containers to avoid junk food in plastic wrappers. Stay away from Styrofoam and other throw-away plastic disposables.
• Replace disposable paper napkin with reusable rag or towelette, and save trees.
School Transport
• Arrange for a car pool early. Use public transport or school bus instead of your own car.
• If you can, bike to school. Walking, cycling, carpooling or taking the public transportation save fuel, minimize air pollution, and reduce traffic congestion.
For more information, call the EcoWaste Coalition at 929-0376.
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