FROM January to April 28 this year, Iloilo province already recorded 234 dengue cases, with one death. The Provincial Health Office issued a timely call for Ilonggos to be wary of day-biting mosquitoes because dengue has ceased to become a rainy season illness; it is now an all-year-round one.
We must get our acts together. If left unchecked, it would only be a matter of time before an outbreak occurs. Dengue is not only a national government concern. 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. The “4S strategy” to combat dengue is a practical and effective approach to the problem every household can do: search and destroy mosquito breeding places; self-protection measures; seek early consultation for fever lasting more than two days; and say “no” to indiscriminate fogging.
For local governments, it would be prudent to strengthen community-based health programs as partners in developing better healthcare for all. 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.
People-based health programs and activities work because they are anchored on people’s direct participation, on commitment despite the odds, and on communal welfare rather than on narrow self-interests. This is a big step towards curbing the spread of dengue.
