Back in the 90s, the Philippines used to be a hotbed of Malaria cases. Two decades in, the country is close to becoming totally Malaria-free.
Health officials and health advocates, however, believe that there is still much to accomplish to completely rid the country of this dreaded disease.
in the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel held last Monday, Department of Health (DOH) national Malaria coordinator Dr. Raffy Deray stressed that the country is definitely on its way to being Malaria-free, thanks to the efforts of some private-sector health advocates who have worked hand-in-hand with the government to curb the dreaded disease.
Dr. Deray revealed that the number of Malaria cases in the country has in recent years, thanks to government partners who have spearheaded dropped anti-Malaria significantly programs. "Contrary to popular belief, the Malaria situation in the country is much better now than our neighboring countries in the ASEAN and eve in the Asian region," Dr. Deray stressed
Probably the most successful anti-Malaria program initiated in the country is the program initiated by Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI) in Palawan in 1999.
Initially referred to as the Kilusan Ligtas Malaria (KLM) the program got off the ground with a Php36-milion grant from Shell Philippines Exploration B.v. (SPEX) with the province of Palawan as its starting point.
"When we saw that the biggest problem of Palawan was its Malaria situation, we in PSFI decided to address this issue and started KLM immediately," Edgar Veron Cruz, PSFI executive director, revealed
Right from the start, PSFI's KLM had to contend with 78,00o Malaria cases in the province with an average of 100 deaths every year.
The project's components were: early diagnosis and prompt treatment, vector control social mobilization and advocacy, and an information drive and communications for behavioral change.
By 2006, Malaria cases in Palawan had dropped to about 12,000, with 21 deaths. Impressed, the Swiss-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria, decided to support the program, which was then renamed Movement Against Malaria or MAM.
From then on, the number of Malaria cases continued to decline steadily, and what was just an initiative in Palawan, became a nationwide anti-Malaria program.
In fact, in 2014 largely because of the success in Palawan, the Philippines achieved the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing Malaria, ahead of its 2015 deadline.
Cruz added that they are also working together with the DoH in setting up elimination hubs in 83 provinces which will be supplied with stockpile of medicines and manned with qualified workers.
"In almost 20 years of fighting Malaria, the PSFI has achieved something that no corporation or group in the country ever has," noted PSFI Program Manager Marvi Trudeau. "There are now only seven provinces that still have Malaria, including Palawan," she added.
"The Pilipinas Shell Foundation will continue to work with the government in order to fight Malaria. Our timeline is to aim for total eradication by 2030," Trudeau declared
Dr. Deray , in turn , stated that the DOH is aiming to reduce the instance of Malaria by 90 % by 2022 and achieve zero-transmission by 2025. As of the first 11 months of 2018, there have been only 2 deaths from Malaria in the whole of the country.
In a previous interview DOH Secretary Francisco Duque Ill said, "The success story of Palawan because this is arguably our country's best in showcasing that public-private partnership work even against an age-old and impressive killer."
Sec. Duque noted, "PSFI's KLM program did not only better the lives of the people of Palawan, KLM has grown into what is now the national Movement Against Malaria. The KLM ex perience tells us that victories can be made, effective leaders can be engaged, communities mobilized, and alliances formed to strengthen country efforts in achieving its Malaria targets."
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