Consolacion holds meeting on immunization program

CEBU, Philippines — The municipality of Consolacion recently held a municipal-wide meeting with all its stakeholders to discuss the implementation of the nationwide immunization program and Universal Health Care.

Consolacion Municipal Health Officer Dr. Fe Eleanor Pardillo stated that the event aims to support the national government’s effort to immunize children aged zero to 12 months against communicable diseases at the grassroots level.

The meeting fostered collaboration and strategic planning to enhance the implementation of immunization efforts, ultimately striving to improve public health outcomes within the community.

The program’s objective is to reduce morbidity and mortality among children from the most common vaccine-preventable diseases.

Among its specific goals are to immunize all infants/children against the most common vaccine-preventable diseases; to sustain the polio-free status of the Philippines; to eliminate measles infection; to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus; to control diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B, and German measles; and to prevent extrapulmonary tuberculosis among children.

Dr. Pardillo mentioned that immunization is conducted at barangay health centers for free. Immunization in private clinics, however, is expensive.

“Ang kasagaran lang gyud reklamo sa atong mga parents or guardians kay taas ang linya sa barangay health centers. But still, we encourage them to have their children ages zero to 12 months nga ipa-immunized sila sa mga vaccine-preventable diseases gyud kay prevention is better than cure,” Pardillo said.

This major assembly, supported by Relief International, UNICEF Philippines, and the Department of Health Central Visayas Center for Health Development, convened a diverse group of stakeholders, including Barangay Captains, Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), Sangguniang Kabataan, DepEd Philippines, along with government physicians, midwives, and nurses. — (FREEMAN)