COVID-19 is not over yet but here comes another potential health crisis – dengue. It is good that local governments are sounding the alarm this early. A breakout of dengue in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic could be disastrous.
There is one effect strategy against dengue outbreak – strict enforcement of Republic Act 9003 to keep dengue-causing mosquitoes away and save lives. Also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, RA 9003 provides the legal framework for systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program that will ensure the protection of public health and the environment. This law provides for essential waste prevention and reduction strategies, including waste segregation at source, reusing, recycling and composting for cleaner and healthier communities.
Local government units, particularly the barangays, have a special role to play in keeping our communities dengue-free by ensuring that discards do not collect water and serve as breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Indiscriminately disposed-of beverage and food containers, used tires, and even garbage bins can hold water where these dreaded mosquitoes can lay eggs.
The Barangay Solid Waste Management Committee, together with the Barangay Health Committee, could take the initiative to search and destroy mosquito breeding places in the neighbourhood.
Local chief executives and their environmental and health officers could support barangay-led efforts to promote and carry out ecological solid waste management as a proactive defense against dengue.
The World Health Organization has stated that “applying many of the basic principles (of solid waste management) can contribute substantially to reducing Aedes aegypti larval habitats,” adding that “the basic rule of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ is highly applicable.”
Indeed, proper storage, collection and disposal of waste are essential for protecting public health.
But aside from depriving Aedes aegypti mosquitoes places to breed, the enforcement of RA 9003 will bring huge benefits to overall community health, environment and economy. It will further reduce the volume and toxicity of garbage, cut hauling costs, control environmental pollution, conserve resources, prevent spillage of plastic litter to the oceans, and create sustainable jobs and livelihoods for local communities.
