The Department of Health (DOH) is pushing for a healthier Negros Island Region (NIR) as the measles-rubella supplemental immunization activity (MR-SIA) for 437,586 children, aged 6 to 59 months, across the region kicked off Monday.

DOH-NIR Director Razel Nikka Hao joined City Health Officer Ma. Carmela Gensoli and Mayor Greg Gasataya during the “Ligtas Tigdas” regional launch at the Mansilingan Activity Center here.

In her message, Hao emphasized the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach for a successful campaign against measles-rubella.

“We are building a healthier Negros Island Region where children are protected before they become sick; where prevention reaches families before disease does; and where national government, local government, and our communities know how to move together when health is at risk,” she added.

The DOH-NIR, which covers Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor and Bacolod City, is calling on parents and caregivers to have their children vaccinated for free and help protect them from measles and rubella, and have them receive Vitamin A supplementation from Aug. 10 to 28.

Hao said that during the two-week supplemental immunization activity, the DOH will assist the local government units.

“Our teams will be on the ground – not only to monitor, but to help. To advise when strategies are not working. To help solve problems as they happen,” she added.

The DOH-NIR chief said that where needed, they will augment the local health teams.

“Here in the Negros Island Region, we need to vaccinate 437,586 children. And we cannot simply open our health centers and wait for them to come. For these two weeks, we go where the children are,” Hao said.

In Bacolod City, the City Health Office (CHO) aims to achieve at least 95 percent coverage or reach a total of 48,839 children aged 6 to 59 months.

Coordinating with the barangay health centers, the CHO has deployed 74 dedicated vaccination teams composed of city nurses and midwives to carry out the supplemental immunization activity.

The CHO’s National Immunization Program coordinator, Paulyne Sustento, assured the parents and guardians of the vaccines’ established safety record.

“We assure parents that these vaccines have been tested and proven safe across different generations since the 1970s. They have undergone years of continuous study to ensure that they effectively protect our children from catching these illnesses,” Sustento said.

Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family and is normally passed airborne or through direct contact.

Rubella is a contagious viral infection that occurs most often in children and young adults.

Vitamin A supplementation is integrated in the measles-rubella vaccination as it mitigates measles-related complications from Vitamin A deficiency and enhances immune response. (PNA)