Dad: City needs dengue council

CEBU, Philippines — To prevent and control the spread of dengue, Cebu City Councilor Eugenio Gabuya, Jr. has proposed an ordinance creating the Cebu City Anti-Dengue Council (CCADC).

Gabuya referred his proposed measure to the council’s committee on laws, ordinances, and styling for its comments and recommendations.

“In order to lessen the impact of dengue in the city, a comprehensive approach is needed, which requires all sectors, including health, finance, planning and others, to work together to reduce the risks associated with dengue and to promote interventions and/or control,” he said.

The composition of the CCADC includes Mayor Edgardo Labella as chairman or his representative and City Health Officer Dr. Daisy Villa or her representative as the vice chairman.

Members of the council include the health and sanitation officer; council’s chairman of committee on health, hospital services and sanitation; council’s chairman on committee on environment and natural resources; committee on barangay affairs; committee on budget; committee on social services; School superintendent or his representative of Department of Education-City Division; City Planning Officer, CENRO, and representative of the accredited NGO.

Each member will receive a P1,000 honorarium for every meeting attended.

Gabuya said the city should increase its efforts in addressing the dengue infection especially during rainy season when dengue cases is expected to rise.

He asked the City Health Office to serve as the secretariat of the council.

Some of the functions of the council are to: “formulate policies and strategies for the prevention and control of the spread of dengue within the city; to monitor and evaluate the implementation of its programs, plans and strategies; organize and encourage owners, operators, managers of registered business establishment, workplace, and schools to actively participate in the prevention and control of dengue,” among others.

Gabuya said the council should also recommend to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for any legislative measures that would assist in the prevention and control of the spread of dengue.

Meanwhile, dengue cases have significantly decreased in Cebu one month after the declaration of a national epidemic.

From the beginning of the year to the month of January, the Province of Cebu has recorded a total number of 3592 cases of dengue, with 23 deaths.

During these months, the number of dengue cases has also soared throughout the country. This led the Department of Health to declare a national dengue epidemic last month.

In the latest update, the province saw a significant decline in dengue cases with 71 cases this month, as compared to the 260 cases recorded in the month of August.

The same month last year saw the largest number of cases in 2018 with 745 cases. The number of dengue cases usually increase drastically over the last months of the year because of the onset of the rainy season.

Even if so far this is not the case for the Province of Cebu, the provincial government still encourages residents to take preventive measures and remain vigilant for any outbreak in their area.

This can be done through the regular community cleanup drives and the disposal of stagnant water.

The Provincial Health Office also offers misting services to dengue-filled areas in Cebu. (FREEMAN)