Sagay villages commit to fight dengue

TWENTY-FIVE barangays of Sagay City expressed commitment to help in reducing dengue cases as the city government launched the Department of Health’s “4-o’clock habit para dengget out!” program to search and destroy mosquito breeding sites, at the City Gymnasium on September 5.

The event was attended by representatives of all barangays of Sagay City, with city officials and non-government organizations, in response to the DOH declaration of national dengue epidemic recently.

Former Councilor Jose Frange, who spoke in behalf of Mayor Alfredo Marañon III, said that the launching served as a reminder to every Sagaynons that there is an effort to fight dengue in the city.

In a report, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the “4-o’clock habit” is a strategy that seeks to raise awareness and encourage the community to do its share and take time to weed out dengue breeding sites at 4 p.m. every day.

“We have implemented preventive measures such as fogging and cleaning up our vicinity to clear breeding places of mosquitoes and other insects. I call everyone to help one another to make our city dengue free,” Frange said.

The event was highlighted by a city-wide caravan that brought messages of the ways to eradicate dengue and how to search and destroy mosquito breeding sites in Sagay.

Kaye Navarro, a representative from Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office said that the program was implemented to eliminate dengue in our communities, adding that aside from it being a major health problem, dengue is an environmental problem.

“Through the implementation of ‘Sabayang 4 o’clock Habit’ we are able to search and destroy the breeding places of mosquitoes. She urged the stakeholders to teach our people to help us in preventing dengue by cleaning our environment.

Barangay Lopez Jaena Captain Eddie Lobaton said that massive education campaign in different areas in his barangay is an effective campaign against dengue.

He urged other barangay captains of Sagay to involve themselves in cleaning up their vicinity as it will largely prevent the proliferation of dengue cases.

“Let us extend an extra mile out of our concern to fight against dengue. We need to increase awareness among our people to lower the incidence,” he said./tde