PNRC, Smart tie up to battle dengue

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Communications Inc. and the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) have joined hands to combat dengue which has already downed 69,594 individuals from Jan. 1 to Aug. 28 this year.

Smart and PNRC embarked on clean-up drives to search and destroy all possible breeding sites of mosquitoes.  

Dengue is spread by the female Aedes Aegypti mosquito which bites during the day.

Aside from clean-up activities, the two agencies have also been conducting blood donation campaigns to ensure adequate supply of blood for dengue patients.

Patients with severe dengue usually need blood transfusion as the virus causes their platelet levels to drop significantly.Some 1,730 individuals, including Smart employees, students and faculty members from the telecommunication firm’s partner schools, professionals and civilians, have participated in a series of blood donation activities conducted from July to August.

The bloodletting was held in Metro Manila and Bulacan, Ilocos Sur, Baguio, Ilocos Norte, Iloilo, Cebu, Bohol, Bacolod, Dumaguete, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Koronadal, Cotabato, and Dipolog.

About 1,053 individuals qualified as blood donors while the others were deferred due to various reasons, including low iron and alcohol intake 24 hours before the donation

Smart conducts nationwide bloodletting activities every July in support of the National Disaster Consciousness month and in November as part of the Kabalikat sa Kaligtasan, the firm’s corporate social responsibility and community service program on disaster preparedness and emergency response.