BACOLOD CITY — Up to 1.6 million students in public elementary and high schools in Western Visayas (Region 6) will receive free school-based health related services, including immunization, iron supplement and deworming this school year.
The DOH-Region 6 launched the initiative together with its partner-agencies, Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), during a program held at the Rodolfo A. Medel Sr. Elementary School in this city on Monday.
Dr. Renilyn Reyes, head of DOH-6 Family Health and Nutrition Cluster, said the convergence between the three agencies in integrating priority services in schools shows the government’s response to the health needs of the Filipino children.
“This is an original initiative in Western Visayas to be cost-effective in terms of operations and administrative concerns in (the delivery of) free health services,” Reyes said.
The school-based health related services integrate the various government health strategies to address vaccine preventable diseases, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and anemia among school children to ensure that they are healthier.
“This is a big advantage for the parents and students to avail of these school-based services. This not just for their health, but also for students to become better learners,” Reyes added.
The three services are the School-Based Immunization, Weekly Iron Folic Acid, and National School-Based Deworming.
Immunization includes measles-rubella and tetanus diphtheria vaccines for 123,771 Grade 1 pupils and 155,314 Grade 7 students.
A total of 78,981 Grade 4 females between 9 and 13 years old will avail of human papillovirus (HPV) vaccines for cervical cancer prevention.
The first dose of these vaccines will be administered in July this year and the second dose, in February next year.
For the iron supplement, which aims to prevent iron deficiency anemia among female learners, the target is 118,350 students in Grades 7 to 10.
Every Monday, each student will take a tablet of 60 milligrams (mg) of iron with 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid for 12 weeks between July and September for the first round. The second round will be administered between January and March next year.
For deworming, 1.6 million students from Kinder to Grade 12, or from 5 to 18 years old, will receive 500 mg of Mebendazole or 400 mg of Albendazole twice a year — the first round in July and second, in January.
The launching rites were joined by DepEd City Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Michell Acuyong, DILG Bacolod City Director Ma. Joy Maredith Madayag, Councilor Em Ang and City Health Officer Ma. Carmela Gensoli.
As part of the program, the observance of the 2018 Nutrition Month this July was introduced by DOH-6 nutrition program coordinator Ma. Azucena Arroyo. (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)
