Mosquito fogging operations (PNA photo by Joey Razon)
MANILA – Around 95 barangays in Palawan are not yet declared free from malaria, a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
In a media forum on Tuesday, Department of Health Officer in Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said Palawan is the only province that was not declared malaria-free in 2022.
“Kung saan mayroon tayong around 3,207 cases ng malaria diyan (Where we have around 3,207 cases of malaria) … and these are indigenous cases,” she said. “We already have 66 provinces which are malaria-free. Our goal is to achieve malaria-free status by 2030.”
In February, DOH Standards and Strategy Division head Dr. Gerald Belimac reported that the cases are concentrated in the southern part of Palawan.
Apart from awareness campaigns, the DOH continues to conduct case investigations, surveillance of mosquito types, targeted testing and treatment and targeted administration of anti-malarial drugs, Belimac said.
“By 2027, dapat ay ma-monitor na at makita natin na wala na dapat talagang kaso sa (we must monitor, and we must see zero cases) Palawan in those three years before 2030,” Vergeire said.
She added that while malaria is fatal, it can be prevented and cured.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were 247 million cases of malaria and 619,000 malaria deaths in 2021.
Children under 5 years old are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria and they accounted for nearly 80 percent of all malaria deaths in the WHO African Region in 2021. (PNA)
