JUST over a month ago, the previous Sangguniang Panlungsod of Iloilo City passed an ordinance calling for the creation of dengue task forces in the barangays. Councilor Candice Tupas, author of the ordinance, said these task forces are a must because the City Health Office should not be left fighting dengue alone considering that the city has 180 barangays. If left unchecked, it would only be a matter of time before the spread of dengue becomes uncontrollable.
Dengue is not only a government problem. Each household, on its own, can contribute to curbing the spread of this disease. While the government, indeed, has the main responsibility to protect the health of its citizens, we, too, have a counterpart responsibility to help the government. With many localized dengue outbreaks posing a threat to government resources, it would be prudent to strengthen community-based anti-dengue activities.
In schools, for example, dengue brigades can help equip students, considered a dengue-vulnerable age group, with more information about dengue transmission, prevention and control. The brigade can teach students and even teachers in public and private schools how to prevent and control dengue before it spreads to every household.
Meanwhile, community-based health programs – manned by volunteer community health workers – have been at the forefront of providing healthcare services and education since the 1970s. These are people helping people, volunteers from poor families who provide services and basic health education to their fellow poor families, especially in rural and frontier areas. In the campaign against dengue, the invaluable role community health workers should be emulated. They fill in the gaps where there are no doctors and nurses.
People-based health programs and activities work because they are anchored on people’s direct participation and on communal welfare rather than on narrow self-interests. This is a big step towards curbing the spread of dengue.
The situation we face today is more serious. Dengue is no longer just a rainy season disease. It has become an all-year-round illness. We must get our acts together.
