We, the Board and members of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO), acknowledge that Dengue continues to be a public health concern in the Philippines based on the following:

• Philippines has the highest number of cases at 195,603 and deaths at 657 in Southeast Asia in 2023.¹
• Presently, over 200,000 cases have been documented leading to several municipalities and cities all over the Philippines to declare a state of calamity. ²
• Deaths due to dengue affect the most vulnerable population that includes the very young, the very old, the immunocompromised and those with co-morbidities.^3,4  

We support the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in promoting public health and safety through the rigorous evaluation of innovative strategies to control and prevent dengue such as newer vector control measures and new dengue vaccines.

We recognize that vaccination saves lives and in 2021, PAPO launched the “Bakuna Now Na” campaign to support the government’s Covid-19 vaccination roll-out by encouraging Filipinos, especially those with comorbidities, to get vaccinated against Covid-19.  PAPO also believes that improving health literacy can lead to informed decision-making and can be achieved by: 

• Accessing reliable sites on vaccine related information such as the website of the World Health Organization (WHO), the DOH and medical societies
• Preventing spreading disinformation that can affect vaccine confidence
• Discussing with medical doctors and other health care professionals the benefits and risks of getting vaccinated to come up with an informed decision.

We deplore all forms of vaccine misinformation and disinformation that has affected vaccine confidence to the detriment of Filipino children.  Such disinformation has impacted national immunization coverage leading to the 2019 measles outbreak of 47,871 cases and 632 deaths⁵ and over 1000 pertussis cases in children in 2024⁶.  We call on stronger action against such malicious actions that have jeopardized the outcome of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Lastly, PAPO joins the Philippine government in supporting the WHO zero dengue deaths by 2030 by advocating the multi-pronged approach to dengue prevention and control that includes diagnosis and case management, integrated surveillance and outbreak preparedness, sustainable vector control, future vaccine implementation and basic operational and implementation research.⁷

References:

1. WHO Western Pacific Region. Dengue Situation Update 688. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/wpro—documents/emergencaffectsy/surveillance/dengue/dengue-20240104.pdf?sfvrsn=fc80101d_137
2. https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2024/9/16/philippines-logs-208-000-dengue-cases-as-of-sept-2024-1231.
3. Data presented by Ms. Angelica Garcia of the Epidemiology Bureau of DOH during the Dengue Forum last September 27, 2023 at the Manila Diamond Hotel.
4. Macias AE et al. Mortality among Hospitalized Dengue Patients with Comorbidities in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 May 10;105(1):102-109. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1163. PMID: 33970884; PMCID: PMC8274750.
5. Domai et al. Measles outbreak in the Philippines: epidemiological and clinical characteristics of hospitalized children, 2016-2019. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2021 Dec 15;19:100334. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100334. PMID: 34977832; PMCID: PMC8686022.
6. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/04/10/2346508/doh-records-over-1000-pertussis-cases-q1
7. WHO. Global Strategy for Dengue Prevention and Control (2012-2020). https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/75303/9789241504034_eng.pdf?sequence=1

For more information, please contact:

Karen Alparce-Villanueva

President

1voicepapo@gmail.com

www.papo.ph