A Filipino first - ROSES AND THORNS by Alejandro R. Roces

From Sen. Juan Flavier, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and former Secretary of Health, comes the report that the World Health Organization (WHO) has informed him that the Philippines has achieved the distinction of being the first polio-free country in the world!

The medical term for polio is poliomyelitis but it is popularly known as infantile paralysis because children are the most susceptible victims and although 80 percent recover within three to four days some become permanently paralyzed.

Severe epidemics have been reported in many parts of the world. In the United States, the number of polio victims was more or less constant from 1942 to 1953. In 1950, the number afflicted with polio reached a high of 33,344 cases. In 1952, there were polio epidemics in such European nations as Belgium, Denmark and Germany. And in Asia, there were outbreaks in Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Singapore.

Now, we have the distinction of being the first nation in the world to be totally polio-free. The thing to remember is that this thing does not just happen. The health authorities had to make it happen. They achieved this by taking their campaign to the level of our barangay health centers and it took five years. It has been so successful that no less than three Asian countries have adopted the Philippine approach.

The real question is "Why can we not do this for diseases that are even more prevalent?" Classic examples are tuberculosis and malaria. The Philippines has the fourth highest TB mortality rate in the world and malaria is still among the ten leading fatal diseases in the country. In point of number, polio was always a minor threat.

Manila was one of the cleanest cities before the war. Public sanitation and hygiene were emphasized in schools. The sanidads or health officers were very visible everywhere. You would see them checking restaurant kitchens and making sure that garbage never accumulated in streets. Today, we don’t know if we still have sanidads in our Health Department. In contrast, what do we have today? Payatas!