Education is still a key tool in the fight against malaria. In that spirit, the President of the Philippines declares November as National Malaria Awareness Month.
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – Wikipedia image
Hope it works.
Proclamation from the President of the Philippines:
MALACAÑANPALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
PROCLAMATION NO. 1168
DECLARING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER OF EVERY YEAR AS MALARIA AWARENESS MONTH
WHEREAS, Malaria is the 8th leading cause of morbidity in the Philippines, affecting most Filipinos of productive age group, and vulnerable groups which includes pregnant women, children and indigenous population groups, and continue to be a major impediment to human and economic development in area where it persists;
WHEREAS, Malaria remains endemic in 65 of the 79 provinces affecting 12.5 million Filipinos, with pockets of high endemicity along municipal/provincial borders, in far flung remote areas and barangays populated by indigenous cultural groups and areas with socio-political conflicts;
WHEREAS, Malaria, with morbidity rate of 55 per 100,000 population and mortality rate of 0.17 per 100,000 population, has to be reduced and controlled by effective malaria prevention and treatment measures, such as increase in the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and early diagnosis and prompt treatment in malaria risk areas;
WHEREAS, Goal six of Millennium Development Goals aims to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, with the target of halting and reversing the incidence of malaria and other diseases by 2015;
WHEREAS, the WHO/UNICEF Regional Child Survival Strategy focuses on the implementation of an Essential Package for Child Survival, one of which is the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets of children 0-59 months in malarious areas;
WHEREAS, Malaria is one of the 5 diseases to be targeted under the disease-free zones initiative of service delivery component of “FOURmula One for Health”, an implementation strategy for health reforms;
WHEREAS, recent advances in the field of diagnosis, treatment and vector control makes the disease preventable and curable despite increasing trends of drug and insecticide resistance;
WHEREAS, the main strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality against malaria are through early diagnosis and prompt treatment, vector control through the use of insecticide treated mosquito nets supplemented by indoor residual spraying of insecticides, and early detection and management of epidemics;
WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known. as the Local Government Code, devolves the provision of basic health services to prevent and control malaria to the local government units. Enhancement on the program management capacity of the LGUs will be one of the major thrusts of the Department of Health and its partners;
WHEREAS, to facilitate program management and inculcate better health-seeking behaviors among the general population especially the high risk population on prevention and control of malaria, the National Malaria Control Program in consultation with the Regional Coordinators, Provincial Health Offices, LGUs, and other stakeholders, recommends that the month of November of every year be declared for the creation of awareness on the prevention and control of malaria.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:
SECTION 1. Lead agency. — The Department of Health (DOH) shall lead in the implementation of the Malaria Awareness Month every November of the year starting 2006. As such, it shall call upon all government agencies/organizations for assistance in the implementation of this Proclamation, including but not limited to the following:
a. Department of the Interior and Local Government
b. Department of Education
c. Department of National Defense
d. National Disaster and Coordinating Council
e. Department of Tourism
f. Local Government Units/Organizations
1. Liga ng mga Barangay
2. League of Municipalities
3. League of Provinces
g. Philippine Information Agency
h. National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
As the lead agency, the Department of Health shall formulate and disseminate guidelines and procedures on the implementation of the campaign, provide technical assistance to LGUs and/or implementing units or organizations, conduct national/regional advocacy and social mobilization in endemic provinces, augment local logistics for malaria prevention and control, and monitor LGU activities in all phases of the campaign. The DOH will also coordinate activities with major donor funded programs such as Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — Malaria Component and Australian Agency for International Development — WHO-RBM [Roll Back Malaria] projects.
SECTION 2. Responsibilities of the. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). — The DILG, through its Secretary, shall issue and disseminate appropriate memorandum, circulars to all local chief executives, mobilize field offices, and assist in the supervision and monitoring of malaria awareness campaign and other prevention and control activities.
SECTION 3. Responsibilities of the Department of Education (DepEd). — The DepEd, through its Secretary, shall incorporate or integrate malaria prevention and control into the school curriculum, provide a venue in schools for treatment or re-treatment of mosquito nets through school children (each pupil will bring their mosquito net for re-treatment) in coordination with local health officials. The DepEd shall issue and disseminate appropriate circulars for the purpose.
SECTION 4. Responsibilities of the Department of National Defense (DND). — The DND, through its Secretary, shall issue and disseminate appropriate memorandum circulars to its regional and provincial units to conduct activities in raising the awareness on malaria prevention and control among their personnel and staff especially in endemic areas. The Armed Forces of the Philippines, through the Surgeon General, must ensure that military personnel assigned to endemic areas should undergo the pre- and post- malaria smear test. Provide assistance in terms of transportation and security support to local health personnel in the implementation of the campaign. Strengthen management of severe malaria to prevent deaths in its hospitals in partnership with DOH.
SECTION 5. Responsibilities of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). — The NDCC, through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), shall coordinate the implementation of the malaria awareness month activities with the LGUs through the Barangay/Municipal/City Disaster Coordinating Councils, Regional Disaster Coordinating Councils, and Provincial Disaster Coordinating Councils.
SECTION 6. Responsibilities of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). — The PIA, through its Director-General, shall guide, integrate and supervise the public communication activities including advertisements of the malaria awareness communication campaign.
SECTION 7. Responsibilities of the Local Government Units (LGUs). — The LGUs shall lead the local implementation of the malaria awareness campaign and allocate appropriate resources for the purpose. Ensure that basic quality health, services on the diagnosis, treatment, vector control (distribution of treated mosquito nets, re-treatment, indoor residual spraying) are sustained until 2015. Further, the LGUs shall coordinate with partner NGOs and/or private sectors in the conduct of the campaign and establish a network of all partners at the local level. The concerned LGUs shall issue appropriate local ordinances, resolutions, memorandum circulars and other relevant orders.
SECTION 8. Responsibilities of the League of Provinces/Municipalities/Barangays. — Through their presidents, shall issue circulars, memoranda and other issuances to their members on the local implementation of malaria awareness activities.
SECTION 9. Responsibilities of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). — The NCIP, through their Chairperson, shall issue memorandum circulars to the field offices to participate actively in the conduct of malaria awareness campaign among tribal minorities/indigenous communities in coordination with local health officials. The NCIP shall likewise support and help in coordinating field activities and help in the translation of IEC materials.
SECTION 10. Responsibilities of the Department of Tourism (DOT). — The DOT, through its Secretary, shall issue and disseminate appropriate memorandum circulars to its regional field offices to conduct activities, in coordination with the Provincial Health Offices, in raising the awareness of tourists on malaria prevention especially in endemic areas.
SECTION 11. Participation of the Civil Societies. — All non-government organizations, members of the civil societies, professional groups, business sectors and other concerned groups are encouraged to contribute to the success of the malaria awareness campaign through information dissemination, social mobilization, providing donations and other appropriate means.
SECTION 12. Bilateral and multilateral agencies. — All donor partners will be encouraged to support malaria control program in line with the goals of Millennium Development Goal No. 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases at all levels. Integrated programs shall be encouraged.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.
DONE in the City of Manila, this 10th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Six.
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Americans and other Westerners just don’t seem to realize the importance of fighting many of the diseases that we do not regularly see. But, they can surely be crippling to some of the less-industrialized countries.
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