Suggestions for anti-dengue and malnutrition

The health of people should always be a priority of genuine leaders. Others can brag about their accomplishments, their roads, their bridges, whatever other structures they have used public funds for. The sustainable health of the constituents will be one of the lasting measure of the true worth of leaders.

Hence, we welcome the news about Cebu City declaring war vs. dengue and malnutrition. Cebu City's concern over dengue and malnutrition deserves support.

We are also happy to learn that Dr. Florentino Solon is assisting the city as consultant for the city's comprehensive barangay nutrition program. Decades ago, as a student researcher for a population project, I was sent from UP Diliman to interview Dr. Solon in Cebu. His simplicity and sincerity to serve the people, as well as his extensive knowledge about nutrition made that interview very memorable. With him around, Cebu City's present health campaign is in good hands.

Both he and Mayor Tom, however, are on the right track. Both know that just the two of them cannot make the campaign succeed. Involving the broadest spectrum of stakeholders for this sustainable campaign may spell the big difference.

Tapping barangay volunteers for this campaign is a big positive step to take. May we suggest for Mayor Tom and Dr. Solon to also consider tapping schoolchildren and schools to help with both the anti-dengue and malnutrition campaign of the city? How?

For the anti-dengue campaign, let the students in all schools of the city identify the areas in their school, in their community, their residence, that has stagnant water. Their report can be graded by the teachers in science or other subjects. They earn grades for reporting the potential or actual breeding places of the deadly dengue-causing mosquitoes. They can do this report over some months and their reports can be collated by the schools and emailed to a designated office or person who can map out (do GIS on) the location of potential dengue danger zones. The students' reports ( the barangay volunteers can also be tapped for identifying the dengue danger zones) can be the basis for anti-dengue policy and action programs involving the students, their schools, their families, their communities, other stakeholders, and then the City. More hands to help in this anti-dengue campaign may just make this simple participatory, sustainable, and inexpensive project work!

For the anti-malnutrition campaign, again, let us involve the students, the schools, and the barangay volunteers for this. Let us convert portions of all schools of all levels, as well as all empty unused lots of the city into key food production zones. Let every student and school and barangay learn how to do compost, do organic farming, and let the leaders and residents of Cebu City surprise themselves with sufficient and continuing supply of vegetables, fruits, and even flowering plants on the side within this year. Even offices and businesses that have vacant lots, no matter how small, can be converted into food production zones. Compost gardening will also allow for production of natural fertilizers which can help farmers in the city's upland barangays raise more food at less costs.

Like the anti-dengue school and barangay campaign, this united food production campaign, involving students and schools principally, and others as well in barangays, offices, and businesses, will be participatory, sustainable, and definitely inexpensive. The rewards for the city, for the city residents and especially the children, however, are priceless and invaluable.

Dengue and malnutrition have overstayed and have affected the most vulnerable, the children and the poor. So much budget and technology have been poured to combat these and yet the problems persist. Perhaps it is time to give these inexpensive but participatory and sustainable suggestions time to be implemented, with the broadest spectrum of stakeholders, with the most number of willing hands and sincere hearts, not with the hugest of budget and expensive technology.

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