The symbolic Traveling Net Campaign or “Biyaheng Kulambo,” of the Department of Health (DOH) has arrived in the province on July 9, 2012.
It is a DOH new advocacy campaign which is a public health intervention against Malaria aiming to heighten public awareness in preventing and eliminating such disease.
Using the Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Net (LLIN) as the symbol of the campaign, it started to travel in all provinces in the country starting from the malaria-endemic areas until it reaches the malaria-free provinces. It was launched on April 25, 2012 at Banaue, Ifugao during the CAR Region 2 Malaria Summit and will culminate on November 2012.
A ceremonial transfer and acceptance of the traveling LLIN was done at the Capitol Lobby as a manifestation of the province’s support and participation to the national campaign. There was an unveiling of the scroll containing the manifesto of support and the pinning of the provincial logo to the symbolic LLIN.
The campaign is supported by the Global Fund Malaria Component through Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. ComVal is the 30th province visited out of 40 global funded areas.
According to Cynthia Mecarandayo, Provincial Malaria Coordinator that the 1998 until 2011 Annual Malaria Cases Reports showed that the province had significant reduction of malaria incidence. “From thousands of cases down to hundreds and even to ones, it has reached a zero case as of June 2012,” she said. (grace almedilla, ids-comval)
