A breath of life from Omron
Every breath is vital to life, and there are individuals out there battling for air-burdened with pain, and struggling for survival. Omron addresses these needs, and empowers them with hope by launching the "Breathe Easy with Omron" campaign, an advocacy to sustain clean air, uplift the spirit, and invigorate the life of those who have asthma.
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The aim of the campaign is to assist in the prevention and treatment of asthma-related diseases among Filipinos nationwide. Since most of asthmatic patients are children, Omron has tied up with ABS-CBN's Bantay Bata 163 and the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Incorporated (PSAAI). Through the humanitarian endeavors of Bantay Bata and PSAAI, Omron will donate much-needed nebulizers to various hospitals, charitable institutions, and schools. Omron, a leading global provider of quality medical equipment and home health-care products, proves its devotion to humanitarian services by engaging in charitable activities. Omron will be supporting the Bantay Bata Pilipinas Caravan to be conducted in 12 cities nationwide. Omron has turned over the life-saving device for distribution in Baguio, Dumaguete, Pampanga,
Batangas, Iloilo, Cebu, Legaspi, Sorsogon, Camarines Sur, Davao, Zamboanga, and Manila. Omron also supported PSAAI's 10th biennial convention in September,
when the Breathe Easy campaign was introduced and 26 units of nebulizers were donated to the society. Meanwhile, Omron actively took part in the recent Relay for Life
project of the Philippine Cancer Society in partnership with the Delta Phi Omicron Sorority, relaying the message "Air for Life." Omron upholds its excellence through unflinching service. Drawing on its core competence in bioinformation sensing and health-management technology, Omron offers only the best possible solution to support
the prevention and treatment of lifestyle-induced diseases. For nearly seven years, Collins has established and marketed the brand Omron Healthcare as one of the top-selling and most reliable digital health-care products in the Philippines. For more information about Omron's "Breathe Easy Campaign" and Omron's products, you may get in touch with the company at telephone numbers 632-681-6160 and 681-6163; fax numbers 632-646-5979 and 681-6162; or through its web site, collins-international.com.ph. M
Focus on teen gynecologic health
The World Health Organization (WHO) once said: "Invest in the youth, invest in the future." That is just what the Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC), the Department of Health (DOH), and the Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecological Society of the Philippines (PAGSPHIL), a new medical society, are trying to do.
November 11 marked the ground breaking of the Teen Republic Center and the first ever PAGSPHIL convention at the PCMC. The Teen Republic Center aims to be a one-stop shop for adolescent care not only in the Philippines but in Asia as well, said PAGSPHIL auditor Dr. Alicia Tamesis. She added that the group envisions the center to be a hub for research, training, and advocacy in adolescent medicine. The celebration was kicked off with a symbolic tree-planting ceremony. Among those who participated in the tree planting were Drs. Apter, president of the Federation Federation Internationale
de Gynecologie Infantile et Juvenile (FIGIJ); Jean-Marc Olivé, WHO representative to the Philippines; and Julius Lecciones, PCMC executive director. Lecciones also unveiled the building perspective for the Teen Republic Center and led the symbolic presentation of the center. A short program followed at the PCMC Conference room, including a slide presentation of the latest health statistics on the Filipino youth and an inspirational message delivered on behalf of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. After the program the first PAGSPHIL convention officially began, with Dr. Corazon Almirante, founding president, speaking about society's role in preserving the fertility of the new generation.
Apter, who is from Finland, talked about the FIGIJ and the International Fellowship of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (IFEPAG). Also, IFEPAG program chair Prof. Dr. Ramiro Molina Cartes discussed the "medical-care system in pediatric gynecology" in the context of Chile, his home county. Six Filipino fellows were then recognized for passing the IFEPAG examinations-bringing to 122 the number of IFEPAG fellows all over the world. M Isabele Yujuico
Duque bats for universal vaccination
Worldwide, millions of lives are saved by vaccination each year," Health secretary Francisco Duque III said as he keynoted the seventh Philippine National Immunization
Conference organized by the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination in November. "[And] we have proven how vaccines have turned out to be the best value in health care through its massive reductions in deaths, diseases, and disabilities due to old scourges like tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, and other important infectious killers."
Duque took pride in enumerating the achievements of the present administration to promote the national immunization program. Annually, an estimated 93 percent of infants are vaccinated with at least one vaccine. The country now ranks 13th among 52 countries that have the most number of children gaining access to immunization. After the country was declared polio-free in 2004, the Department of Health (DOH) was also able to reduce the number of measles cases by almost 96 percent since the launch of "Ligtas Tigdas" in 2004. The program is working for the country to be declared measles-free by 2008.
This campaign has also paved the way for increasing the safety of vaccine administration through the use of autodisabled needles and syringes, resulting in a safer way of disposing sharps.
Hepatitis B is yet another disease that the government is targeting to control through vaccination. The DOH has included the birth dose of the hepatitis-B vaccine in the newly revised immunization program. And in its efforts to expand the communities reached with immunization, through the combined efforts of the government, local health units, field-health workers, and the community itself, 63 percent of health facilities throughout the country can now administer complete immunization among children under one year.
"All these gains point to a promising future for immunization in the Philippines, but a future nonetheless speckled with unparalleled challenges and perhaps even more serious threats in the rise and spread of other deadly infectious threats." Duque pointed out. "Our success stories in truth are not there to teach us complacency. They are there to teach us ruthless vigilance."
The battle against bugs is far from over, as they quickly proliferate to create new diseases. Aside from this, other challenges that need to be faced include the costs of immunization and the development of new vaccines for diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and for the common flu and avian flu. Focus is also needed in ensuring that vaccines reach the poor, especially those living in underserved areas. It is also important to mobilize as many resource persons as possible to make immunization accessible to virtually all Filipinos.
These simply mean that a lot still needs to be done, said Duque. These are the obstacles the national government must face as they try to "catapult vaccination back into the policy map."
He added: "Immunization will continue to be a steady pillar of our health system, the necessary first step to deliver the basic essential health interventions for all Filipinos. A strong immunization service provides a strong equal access to children, mothers, and in the future all other populations at risk of diseases like TB, malaria, and HIV/AIDS."
The DOH now aims to make immunization universally accessible in its goal to reduce infant mortality and improving maternal health. Concluded Duque: "By fully harnessing preventive action of immunization services by making them available … everywhere, particularly for our poor, we have the distinct opportunity today to stop needless deaths and suffering and to fight poverty more resolutely." M Cherrie Cruz
Immunization during pregnancy
Immunizing pregnant women is not common practice in the Philippines. For most Filipinos, immunization stops during the childhood years and they rarely receive any more vaccines when they get older. Booster doses are hardly even given past the pubertal age. For women, they receive only tetanus vaccine as a preventive measure in prenatal checkups.
Recently, the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecologic Society (POGS) embarked on a nationwide campaign to promote immunization for pregnant women and women of child-bearing age (18 to 50 years old). Dr. Ricardo Manalastas, an obstetrician/gynecologist from the Philippine General Hospital, discussed the new guidelines proposed by POGS when he spoke at the seventh Philippine National Immunization Conference in November. The guidelines were developed by the POGS after thorough research and discussions.
The vaccines included in the guidelines are the tetanus, hepatitis A and B, MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), varicella (chickenpox), pneumococcus, influenza, and meningococcal vaccines. These vaccines are usually given during infancy and childhood.
Most of these vaccines are recommended to women of childbearing age as prophylaxis for potentially fatal diseases. The influenza vaccine, meanwhile, is recommended to those who are pregnant at the peak season of the disease. It is usually given during the second or third trimester, prior to the peak season, usually in the summer months. The meningococcal vaccine is only given to special groups of women who are living in areas where outbreaks have occurred.
For these vaccines, administration is usually intramuscular. A rare but possible side effect is severe allergic reaction to a component of the vaccine, though each vaccine has its own contraindications for administration.
Immunization is not only limited to infants and children. Most of the diseases that are fatal to both a pregnant woman and her unborn child are vaccine-preventable. Prevention is still the best remedy and the most cost-effective.
M Cherrie Cruz
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