By Anna Valmero
MANILA CITY, METRO MANILA—The government received 175 units of vaccine refrigerators from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a portion of which will go to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
Of the total, 23 units will be given to ARMM after the region’s equipment were badly damaged during typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009, said Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Enrique Ona.
Vaccine refrigerators are crucial to maximize the potency of vaccines for an effective immunization program, especially with the health agency's launch of the nationwide measles vaccination program for 18 million Filipino children.
There are a total of 14 deaths from measles and of 5,186 suspect measles cases nationwide from January 1 to April 16. The most number of cases are recorded in Metro Manila and Central Luzon.
Through the project, Ona hopes there will be improvement in the immunization coverage in ARMM and the rest of the country since the refrigerators will prolong the shelf life of vaccines and other medicines.
Ann Hirschey of USAID said the equipment donationaims to help the recovery of Philippine health facilities that were badly damaged over the last two years.
Ona committed to provide the necessary training on the operation and maintenance of the equipment to the end-users.
