The vaccination champions training of trainers, overseen by the Provincial Health Office (PHO) in partnership with the Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH CHD-MIMAROPA), will conclude today, September 1.
The training is intended for healthcare professionals, including barangay health workers.
The objective of the training is to further enhance the knowledge level of healthcare workers in the province, which is one of the priorities of Governor Victorino Dennis Socrates’ administration in advancing the healthcare sector in the province.
The Bakuna Champions Training of Trainers began on August 30 at Hue Hotels and Resorts Puerto Princesa, with participants composed of barangay health workers (BHWs), doctors, nurses, midwives, and Health Education and Promotion Officers (HEPOs) from various municipalities in the province.
Some of the topics covered include Strengthening the Roles of BHWs, Priority Areas of Health Promotion, Introduction to Bakuna Champions, National Immunization Program, Interpersonal Communication, and Partnership Building Engagement. These were presented by resource speakers Meyrick J. Garces, Diane Kay Guevara, Danika P. Omapas, Trixia T. Roy, and Arlo Winston De Guzman.
Dr. Faye Erika Q. Labrador, chief of the PHO, emphasized the importance of vaccines, particularly their life-saving capabilities by preventing fatal diseases.
“We all know naman po that vaccines have been saving thousands of children every year, protecting them from life-threatening diseases, and there are illnesses that only vaccines can protect them,” pahayag niya.
“We really have to emphasize to them the very importance of vaccines, syempre yung ating routine vaccinations that they have need to complete from zero to one. If they have not completed it, yung ating catch up immunization as well as yung ating mga supplemental immunization in the presence of an outbreak,” dagdag ni Dr. Labrador.
Participants were also provided with relevant information about the Bakuna Champions Playbook, which is part of the eight Health Promotion Playbooks in accordance with the seven priority areas outlined in the Health Promotion Framework Strategy 2030.
This compilation includes Diet and Physical Exercise; Environmental Health; Immunization; Substance Abuse; Mental Health; Sexual and Reproductive Health; as well as Violence and Injury Prevention. This empowers them to oversee the training of their covered Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) and other volunteer health workers, aligning with the principles of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, which advocates for enhancing the capabilities and knowledge of BHWs as Health Education and Promotion Officers.
The activity is also being carried out in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
