DENGUE cases in Iloilo province are declining, according to the Iloilo Provincial Health Office. This is good news.
But dengue has become an all-year-round illness, not anymore a rainy season illness. We must therefore get our act together. If left unchecked, it would only be a matter of time before dengue spreads again.
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. Dengue outbreaks could pose a threat to government resources, thus it would be prudent to strengthen community-based anti-dengue activities. 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.
Community-mobilized 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.
Last month, in-person classes partially resumed. In schools, so-called “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.
This is worth repeating: Dengue is not only a government problem. Everyone, young and old, must be involved in fighting it.
