The Provincial Government of Bulacan will participate in the observanceof World Malaria Day

The Provincial Government of Bulacan will participate in the observance of World Malaria Day by working together with the four endemic Local Government Units (LGUs) including Doña Remedios Trinidad (DRT), San Miguel, Norzagaray and City of San Jose Del Monte to help eliminate the said disease in the province.

With the theme “Invest in the Future, Defeat Malaria”, the observation aims to increase participation from the community and awareness about malaria, the 9^th leading cause of morbidity in the Philippines, to prevent having the said disease.

An advocacy and talk will be conducted by the Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) and Department of Health Region III (DOH-III) on April 24 at Hilltop, Norzagaray, Bulacan wherein 500 participants from the four endemic municipalities are expected to participate.

Prior to the talk, a distribution of long lasting insecticide treated nets will also be conducted to protect the residents against the bite of malaria-infected mosquitoes.

In terms of morbidity cases due to malaria in Bulacan, 94 cases from the four endemic municipalities were tallied last 2009 but the number declined to zero last 2014. Meanwhile, the mortality cases from 2009-2014 has been zero.

“Ito ay laban ng bansa, kaya bagaman wala nang kaso ng malaria sa Bulacan, itinutuloy natin ang pagpupursiging matuldukan na ang malaria sa Pilipinas. Kung nagawa natin ibig sabihin posible din sa iba. And now that we are malaria free, we should strive to maintain the situation for a healthier Bulacan,” Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado said.

Furthermore, the PGB envisions a malaria free Philippines by the year 2020 and will continue to control the disease through interventions like prompt treatment, vector control with the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying, and ensuring quality of services through quality assurance systems and intensification of health promotion.

The LGUs are also capacitated to manage and implement community-based malaria control through social mobilization with active participation and involvement in border operations.

The province received the Award for Central Luzon “Zero Malaria Case, Zero Malaria Deaths” and “Best Contemporary Approach in Malaria Control” last February 2015 due to its huge efforts to prevent the disease.