To further improve the Malaria service in the region, DOH-CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) provided equipment to the five Malaria Elimination Hubs located in the provinces to be used for diagnostic and entomological training, quality assurance, and research and development.
“We will continue to provide all the support needed in the fight against Malaria to attain our objective of eliminating malaria by 2020 or the sooner the better. There are still three provinces in the region still to be declared and we will ensure that every resident of these affected municipalities will be malaria-free,” Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo stated during the turn-over ceremony held at the BSA Towers, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City.
‘We need to have reliable diagnosis, highly effective and appropriate treatment and preventive measures to manage and implement malaria interventions,” he emphasized.
He also reminded local health officials to make sure that the donated equipments will also have funds for preventive maintenance and preservation. “It is important na hindi mapabayaan at bigyan natin ng halaga lahat ng mga kagamitan na ating mga natatanggap dahil ang mga ito ay napakaimportante sa ating trabaho, lalu na at nagagamit natin ito to ensure quality malaria services, timely detection of infection at immediate response.”
Among the equipments donated were stereoscope microscope, desktop computer package with printer and uninterruptible power supply (UPS), chinstrap, coverall, faceshield, global positioning system (GPS), gloves, hard hart, visor bracket and carabao bait trap (CBT).
In CALABARZON, only two provinces were declared as Malaria free namely, Cavite, and Batangas.
According to the 2018 Malaria status, there is a total of 4,933 cases reported. From this figure, 4,847 were local cases and 86 were imported cases. The National Capital Region has 27 confirmed cases and CALABARZON has 7 confirmed cases recorded. Palawan accounts for 94% of the cases.
Malaria Elimination Hubs are established in epidemic-risk and malaria free provinces/cities with the responsibility of overseeing and sustaining malaria-free status of different respective provinces and cities.
The hubs will ensure anti-malaria interventions in areas with stable and unstable transmission of malaria, and shall sustain provisions of anti-malarial diagnostic, treatment and preventive measures in epidemic-risk, malaria-prone and malaria-free areas. It will also ensure that anti-malaria services are accessible to all clients and community members even in malaria-prone or malaria-free areas.
The Philippines envision the country to be Malaria Free Philippines by 2030. The goal is to reduce malaria incidence in the Philippines by 90% in 2022.
Currently, there are 50 provinces declared as malaria free, 27 provinces in various malaria stage elimination and 4 provinces with Malaria cases recorded according to the National Malaria Elimination Program.
DOH CALABARZON Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo hands over the stereoscope microscope to Dr. Gilberto P. Ilog, Provincial Health Officer of Cavite and one of the recipients of equipment donated by the regional office for use in the Malaria Elimination Hub located in the province during the turn-over ceremony held at the BSA Towers, Ortigas Center in Mandaluyong City on March 20 2019
