BONTOC, Mountain Province – Health service providers in this capital town have stepped up the campaign on basic hygiene especially proper handwashing and dental hygiene among school children as it reached out to the farthest school in the municipality.
Personnel from the Municipal Health Office (MHO) headed by Dr. Diga Kay Gomez in collaboration with the Department of Education Mountain Province Schools Division Office (DepEd-MPSDO) recently conducted an information education and communication (IEC) campaign to pupils of Chapyosen Multi-Grade in Barangay Caneo in this capital town.
Municipal Nutrition Action Officer Venous Faith Cofulan discussed the Pinggang Pinoy and 10 Kumainments; Nurse II Aracelle Aguilba lectured on basic hygiene including body and dental hygiene; and DepEd Nurse Sherwin Angagka shared the importance of handwashing and deworming.
Part of the activity was the demonstration of proper handwashing and the distribution of deworming tabs and toothbrushes.
A similar activity was recently conducted at the Bontoc Central School.
The MHO in partnership with the DepEd-MPSDO remains committed to creating a culture of hand washing in schools and communities in making lasting pledges for a healthier future through proper hand washing, which is a cost-effective and simple, yet often overlooked way of maintaining one’s well-being.
This is also an effective prevention measure with the sudden increase in typhoid fever and sore eyes cases in the municipality.
Mayor Jerome Tudlong, Jr., who has always been an advocate of health and wellness, expressed his support for making proper hand washing a habit by highlighting its crucial role in taking care of everyone’s health.
He said proper hygiene should not only be practiced during the observance of the Global Handwashing Day every Oct. 15 but should be an everyday practice.
He added this has been proven an effective and cost-efficient health safety measure to reduce disease transmission in public settings.
MHO personnel shared the same information about proper hand washing during the regular Monday flag raising ceremony on Oct. 23 at the Municipal Capitol. – Alpine Killa-Malwagay
