LOCAL government units (LGUs), especially the barangays, play a vital role in responding to pressing health concerns like the emerging Zika virus, particularly through education and prevention.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate committee on health and demography, said that in all aspects of governance and economic development, the barangays are the frontliners.
“The barangay officials as well as volunteers really have a huge role in developing the culture of bayanihan especially in the health governance aspect,” she added.
Hontiveros was in Bacolod City Thursday to lead the distribution of 100 anti-Zika virus packets to residents of Barangay Alijis, which currently ranks as the seventh highly vulnerable barangay in the city for dengue, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Each packet contains mosquito nets, repellents, condoms, and reading materials related to the virus infection.
The initiative, implemented in partnership between the DOH and the City of Bacolod, is part of the health promotion and disease prevention strategies that Hontiveros is pushing for all barangay health units to implement.
This is to reduce the public’s risk of contracting the virus, she said.
“This is empowering LGUs especially the barangays to respond in terms of preventive healthcare against Zika,” she added.
Hontiveros also asked the national government to seriously study the possibility of building “super barangay health centers” similar to that of Cuba.
“These could strengthen our current barangay health system by modernizing it with adequate facilities, personnel, and expertise,” she said.
Currently, there are nine reported cases of mosquito-borne Zika in the country, seven of which are in the nearby Iloilo City. Other cases were reported in Cebu City and Laguna Province.
Like dengue and chikungunya, Zika is also transmitted by Aedes aegypti. However, it can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
It has similar symptoms with other mosquito-borne viruses like fever, rashes, headache, red eyes and joint pain.
Some of the recipients of anti-Zika packets in Barangay Alijis were pregnant women, who are considered high-risk as the virus may also infect an unborn child.
Before the distribution of kits, Dr. Rodolfo Dumayas, development management officer of DOH-Negros Island Region, conducted a lecture on Zika virus, its nature, effects, and how it can be mitigated.
Dumayas said that aside from self-protection measures, residents should always practice “search and destroy” of mosquito breeding places to maintain clean surroundings.
