GARC Joins Rabies Awareness Month Celebration In The Philippines
From Dane Medina, GARC Communications Team in the Philippines
March is Rabies Awareness Month in the Philippines. Various activities took place this year in support of government efforts to raise people’s awareness of this deadly disease, and to rid the country of rabies in 2016. These are some highlights from what has been a very busy month!
The celebrations kicked off on March 7 with an event organized by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI). At least 100 pet owners came along and were able to benefit from free veterinary services such as consultation, vaccination, and spaying and neutering of dogs and cat. To raise awareness among children at the event, GARC set up a coloring and origami-making station and gave out comics and coloring books about rabies. The team also talked with the children about behavior around dogs and how to recognize and respect a dog’s feelings to avoid being bitten.
Continuing with the theme of education, The Rabies Corner was formally launched at Pilar II Central Elementary School in Sorsogon. Around 73 students from Pilar II CES along with district heads and school representatives from six school districts attended the launch on March 6. The Rabies Corner is a designated area within the school in which children and teachers can access materials about rabies, bite prevention and management, and responsible pet ownership. There are plans for A Rabies Corner to be put up in a further six selected pilot schools throughout the province.
Still in Sorsogon, police officers in the Province of Sorsogon participated in an orientation-seminar on the Anti-Rabies Act (Republic Act 9482) on March 18. They play an important role in enforcing the province’s rabies control and elimination program.
Dr. Rosebelle Gamal, a GARC Field Veterinarian, was invited by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Region 3 as one of the four panelists during the Kapihan ng Mamamayan (Coffee with the Community).
March is also Women’s Month in the Philippines so for this event the PIA invited around 100 women-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) from Pampanga. (4Ps is a government program which aims to eradicate extreme poverty by investing in health and education.) The panelists covered topics such as human and animal rabies, the rabies prevention and control program of the province, as well as the different GARC initiatives.
On March 26, a total of 336 medical professionals, veterinarians, educators, information officers, law enforcers, and municipal/provincial leaders attended the Region 1 Rabies Summit in Ilocos Norte. They were invited to assess the rabies prevention and control program in their respective areas. A one-health approach was emphasized with the theme “Sama-sama,Tulong-tulong para sa Rabies-Free Region 1” (Working Together for a Rabies-free Region 1) while the participants worked together to plan the roadmap towards rabies elimination in their areas.
And finally, the ‘graduates’ of the Communicating Health Advocacy Mentorship Program (CHAMP) which is one of GARC’s pilot models, also got to contribute to the Rabies Awareness Month festivities. Their outputs, such as communication activities (press conferences and radio and TV interviews) and media materials intended for their respective geographical areas, coincided with the celebration. Participants of the CHAMP include community media practitioners and government information officers from the PIA, DA-BAI and DA-Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Research Division (DA-RAFID).
The Rabies Awareness Month in the Philippines is celebrated annually every March through the Executive Order (E.O.) No. 84 passed in 1999. Aside from declaring March as Rabies Awareness Month, the E.O. allows for the creation of the National Rabies Prevention and Control Committee (NRPCC) in which GARC is an active member.