DOH: P170M needed for malaria-prevention programs next year

MANILA, Philippines - The Health department is asking for a P107-million increase in their budget for malaria prevention for next year, an official said Thursday. Doctor Yolanda Oliveros of the DOH’s National Center for Disease Prevention and Control said that for 2009, they are asking the national government for a P170-million budget for their campaign against malaria. This as she noted that 59 of the 81 provinces in the country remain endemic to malaria, with seven of them considered highly endemic. Oliveros identified the provinces as Cagayan, Apayao, Isabela, Palawan, Agusan del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. She added that the department expects to increase the 22 currently malaria-free provinces in the near future through their various programs. “Our goal is to eliminate malaria from the Philippines by 2020,” Oliveros said during the launch of the Global Malaria Action Plan for a Malaria Free World. The event was hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and held at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila. Oliveros said that since 2002, deaths due to malaria had been reduced by 52 percent. In 2006, the number of malaria cases nationwide was placed at 35,405 and 122 deaths lower by 24 percent than 2005. In 2000, malaria cases were placed at 59,000. She however said that despite the 2.4-percent increase in the number of malaria cases in 2007, the country is still on track on meeting its goal. - GMANews.TV