DOH vaccination program gets bigger 2014 budget

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Health's budget for immunization program for 2014 will be P3.4 billion, which is higher by P1.5 billion from this year's budget of P1.9 billion as the government is combating vaccine-preventable diseases through the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).

"This is to ensure that every child in this country is immunized," said DOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag, who was the keynote speaker in the 4th Asian Vaccine Congress attended by Asian doctors and other medical practioners.

"Vaccines don't save lives but vaccination save lives," Tayag added.

EPI was initially aimed to eliminate tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles.

But eventually, the program was expanded to include rotavirus last year, making the Philippines the first country to immunize against the disease in Southeast Asia.

This initially benefited some 700,000 infants from the 5.2 million families identified as poorest of the poor by the Department of Social Welfare and Development through its National Household Targeting System.

Dr. Lulu Bravo, president of the Immunization Partners in Asia Pacific (IPAP) said that vaccines are one of the greatest health interventions in the last 200 years.

"It is the cost-effective measure in public health and with political will, it can easily be implemented among the target population," she said.

IPAP is spearheading the congress from June 12 to14, which aims to enhance the knowledge on vaccination practices, understand basis for vaccine recommendations and learn practical applications, support introduction of new and underutilized vaccine in national immunization programs, learn of new vaccines under development and share best practices and increase awareness in improving vaccine coverage and compliance among Asian countries.

Bravo said that rotavirus kills half of the 3,500 Filipino children below five years old who die from severe diarrhea annually.

Rotavirus is a virus that cause gastroenteritis. It is manifested by severe watery diarrhea, oftentimes with fever, vomiting and abdominal pain.

This year, DOH will include pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) in the program to be given to children the same time the other vaccines are given.

Pneumococcal disease includes meningitis, blood infection and pneumonia, the leading killer of Filipino children which kills some 4,500 Filipino children below five-year-old.

Bravo said that with the inclusion of rotavirus and PCV vaccines in the DOH's vaccination program, the Philippines is now in a better position to keep Filipino children healthy not only now but in the years to come.

Also in the pipeline is the anti-measles vaccination for close to 200,000 students in grade one to ten in public schools in some priority areas.

Based on a national survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology among Filipino children in 2011, the complete immunization coverage among children below four years old reached almost 92 percent. —(FREEMAN)