GARC Supports the Philippines Province of Cebu in Intensifying its Rabies Advocacy Program
The Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) has teamed up with the provincial government of Cebu (Philippines) led by the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) and the Provincial Information Office (PIO) to conduct a Media Advocacy Workshop on Rabies Awareness and Prevention. The workshop, which will take place on 22 April 2014 at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall, Cebu City, is aims to strengthen the provincial rabies prevention and elimination program.
To give the participants a full understanding of the regional and provincial rabies situation, both for the canine and human rabies cases, representatives from the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Unit (DA-RFU) VII, Department of Health (DOH) Region VII, and Provincial Health Office (PHO) will also be present along with Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) Director, Dr. Rubina Cresencio.
Meanwhile, Prof. Sherwin Joseph Felicidario from the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Development Communication will also be on hand to speak about the role of communicators and the importance of effectively communicating health messages to the public.
GARC considers media practitioners and information officers in the province as vital partners in supporting the national rabies elimination program. Their role as ’gatekeepers’ of information is especially important in processing technical information into mainstream knowledge presented in the media.
This is the fifth in a series of Media Advocacy Workshops conducted by GARC as part of its Advocacy, Communication, and Education (ACE) campaign. The workshops aims to inform and empower media practitioners and information officers in the province on the important concepts of rabies prevention and elimination and responsible pet ownership.
Map of Cebu, Philippines highlighting the location of Mactan Island. From Image created and copyright (2004) by seav. Released under the GNU FDL.
Article contributed by Dane Medina, Communications Officer (Asia).