Group urges winning village bets to make health priority

“We call on the newly-elected barangay officials and SK councils to make health as their primary concern to suppress the rising trend of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially heart disease and cancer in the country,” New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP) president Emer Rojas said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) (Photo: New Vois Association of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — An anti-smoking advocacy group on Monday called on winning village and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) bets to make health and health care delivery a priority in carrying out their responsibilities in communities.

“We call on the newly-elected barangay officials and SK councils to make health as their primary concern to suppress the rising trend of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially heart disease and cancer in the country,” New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP) president Emer Rojas said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA)

Rojas, a health advocate and former chain smoker who survived laryngeal cancer, said that the first step in curbing NCDs is by making sure that rural or barangay health centers are responsive to the needs of the people.

“This can be done by assuring the availability of basic medicines and competent medical health workers to address their primary or initial healthcare needs,” he said.

He also noted how creation and passage of ordinance and effectively implementing them can also contribute in achieving the over-all strategy to bring down the rate of NCDs in the country.

Recently, experts from the United Nations warned that close to one in three people in the Philippines will die before the age of 70 from a non-communicable disease.

The UN experts acknowledged difficulties in raising awareness among policymakers and the public about the threats of NCDs and their risk factors.

The mission also observed significant gaps in implementing national policy at the local level and the challenges in mobilizing a strong multisectoral response to address NCDs.

Dr. Gundo Weiler, WHO Representative in the Philippines, said that in beating NCDs, urgent action should be taken at various levels of the government and engagement of all relevant stakeholders.

“The participation of different sectors during this joint mission clearly demonstrates that progress in NCDs prevention and control requires coordinated action by many sectors, such as finance, trade and industry, budget and management, parliamentarians, justice, education, labor and employment, agriculture, local government and others,” Weiler said in a recent statement.