Choose 2 from the disease below that are emerging in the Philippines.

Make a research on the

actions done by DOH. Explain further what are the problems encountered during the

implementation of the programs of these diseases.

Diseases:

1. Dengue

2. Polio

3. Diphtheria

4. Measles

5. Covid 19

The Department of Health (DOH) is the

principal health agency in the Philippines.

It is responsible for ensuring access to

basic public health services to all Filipinos

through the provision of quality health care

and regulation of providers of health goods and services.

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19)

The COVID-19 pandemic has indubitably been a great challenge to every Filipino in the

past year. While this unprecedented situation has caused major changes in the everyday life of

our citizens, we have proven well our ability to forge forward in the face of this crisis. In the past

year, our strategy has focused on ensuring the minimum public health standards through the

BIDA Solusyon campaign to mitigate the spread of the virus and protect the most vulnerable in

the absence of a cure for the virus. Now, countries all over the world are launching their
respective vaccination programs to turn the tides of the pandemic, with the Philippines among

the ranks of countries to have given the green light for the largest vaccination campaign to date.

The development of vaccines against COVID-19 is among the solutions that will greatly mitigate

the increasing cases in the country, complemented by already existing measures and practices in

place. The Department of Health (DOH), through the Task Group COVID-19 Immunization

Program, and in consultation with all agencies comprising the COVID-19 Vaccine Cluster,

developed a comprehensive plan for vaccine deployment and vaccination. The National

Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP) for COVID-19 Vaccines seeks to provide the overall

operational guidance in the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine deployment and

vaccination program in the Philippines. However, there is a need to supplement/update the

National Deployment and Vaccination Plan given new developments. To ensure safety and

efficacy of vaccines to be administered to the public, ONLY vaccines which are granted with

Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration and

positive recommendation from the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) will be

purchased by the government. Likewise, policy decisions and recommendations are informed

based on the recommendations of technical experts, convened to provide independent

recommendations to the DOH, Vaccine Cluster, and IATF on vaccine implementation. These

expert groups include the interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG),

Technical Advisory Group for COVID-19, Health Technology Assessment Council, National

Adverse Event Following Immunization Committee, and Vaccine Expert Panel. Through the

National Vaccine Deployment Plan, the Philippine government brings together all national

agencies, local government counterparts, as well as partners in the private sector and civil

society. By approaching the vaccination program in a whole-of-system, whole-of government,

-of-society approach, we can ensure the successes of the national vaccine deployment program in

delivering safe effective, and accessible vaccines for all Filipinos. As our history, experience, and

science has proven in the past decades, vaccines save lives. An effective and national vaccination

program, in tandem with the continued observance of the minimum public health standards, will

pave the way for the recovery of our beloved country and bring us one step closer to our vision

of a Healthy Pilipinas.

DENGUE

The Department of Health (DOH) today disclosed that its initiative against dengue has

lowered its number of deaths by as much as 78% from January 1 to August 15 this year. Its

multi-pronged approach that works in direct cooperation with medical centers and local

government units (LGUs) also aims to reduce cases of water-borne infectious diseases, influenza,

and leptospirosis, including dengue (W.I.L.D.), which usually peaks at the start of the rainy

season. Through epidemiological data and analysis submitted, the DOH has noted that W.I.L.D.

illnesses peak significantly in the months of July and October due to fluctuating weather

conditions, flooding, and accumulation of contaminated water. However, for this year there was

an observed significant decrease in the number of cases compared to the same time period in

2019. One year after the national dengue epidemic was announced in August 2019, reported

dengue cases have dropped from 430,282 to 59,675 in 2020. Dengue mortalities have also

significantly dropped from 2019 with 1,612 deaths versus 231 in 2020. The NAVDPCP’s current

activities in 2020 include updating the Dengue Manual of Operations and Administrative Order

No. 2012-006: Revised Dengue Clinical Practices Guidelines through Technical Working Group

Meeting; partnering with UP-Philippine General Hospital (PGH), UP-National Institutes of

Health (NIH), Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), and World Mosquito Program;

and releasing administrative issuances. Through these efforts, the DOH will roll out the Nucleic

Acid Amplification Test-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay (NAAT-LAMP) which

offers cheaper and simpler dengue diagnosis. It will also implement the Wolbachia Project

within Bicol-Center for Health Development (CHD) as part of a non-invasive way to control the

local dengue-carrying mosquito population. Administrative releases underlined guidelines in

establishing Dengue Centers of Excellence in Tertiary Hospitals, creating Dengue Fast Lanes,

and conducting Dengue Mortality Review. In these advisories, preparation for W.I.L.D. illnesses

with special consideration for the present COVID-19 pandemic are shared from surveillance,

integrated vector management, to the submission of reports to the National Dengue Prevention

and Control Program and Infectious Diseases Office of the Disease Prevention and Control

Bureau. Materials that cover the need for the destruction of mosquitoes’ breeding places,

wearing insect-repellant uniforms, and following the 4S-Enhanced Strategies for Dengue have

also been disseminated.

Reference: Department of Health o Kagawaran ng Kalusugan (2021). Covid 19 and Dengue

Cases Actions and Implementations. Retrieved from: https://doh.gov.ph/node/16882