By Michael A. Bengwayan
Director - PINE TREE
Carlo Calde, a 12 year old sixth grader from the Bagong Silang Elementary School, used to be top of his class. Today, he is at home, unwell, having missed school for 3 weeks while he is recovering from a serious intestinal worm infection.
He is one of the millions of Filipino children whom the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says are prevented from studying and excelling at school because of intestinal parasites, diarrhea or tooth decay.
Grim Statistics
At least 67 percent of students in public elementary schools in the Phillipines suffer from intestinal worm infections. But the statistics on diarrhea are even more grim.
Dr. Marisa Ricardo, a health specialist at UNICEF was quoted by the Phillippine Star as saying, "the Philippines is second to China as the biggest contributor to the number of diarrhea-related deaths in the world."
Diarrhea kills some two million people worldwide with 10,000 fatalities in the Philippines alone. Adding to these disturbing figures is the fact that 97 percent of all Filipino children are suffering from tooth decay. It was also found that 30 percent of all Filipino pre-school children are malnourished.
"Be it intestinal worms, diarrhea, toothache or hunger, all contribute drastically to the educational welfare of a child," said Dr. Angeline Calatan of the Department of Education of the Philipines (DepEd) to IslamOnline.net (IOL).
"Intestinal parasites and diarrhea physically weaken children, making them [very] sick and unable to concentrate on anything,"said Calatan.
There are a number of parasitic infections that can be acquired through ingestion of contaminated food and drink. Others are ingested when children play outside and then fail to wash their hands before eating such as in the case of the Ascaris worm, which is the most common parasitic infection in Filipino children.
Calatan, along with two other DepEd physicians, Abraham Ulep and Marcelino Samonte, were sent by the government to a number of schools in northern Philippines with hopes that they will be able to deliver a solution to this nationwide problem.
Together with hundreds of other doctors, they are implementing a program called Fit For School, an essential health care package aimed at reducing the number of pupils and children who are afflicted with intestinal parasites, diarrhea, toothache and malnutrition from the estimated 25 million children across the country.
"It is a tall order but they are willing to give it a try. We know the problems are gigantic but we have to start something we believe can mitigate the current situation," said Samonte to IOL.
"If we don't start now, the problem will be impossible to overcome resulting in massive dropouts in school and low educational comprehension for millions of children," he warned. "It will have tremendous economic, social, environmental and health impacts."
No Water, No Washing
Fit for School is a straightforward, practical effort involving different sectors to improve the health of Filipino children by institutionalizing school-based daily hand washing with soap and tooth brushing with fluoride toothpastes in schools and day care centers.
The program intends to reduce nationwide parasitism and oral infections by 50 percent, dental caries by 40 to 50 percent, the percentage of children with below average weight and height by 20 percent, and to increase school attendance by 30 percent. This should lead to an overall improvement in academic performance.
However, a major problem with the implementation of the program is that in many schools all over the country there is simply no water available for the children to wash their hands or brush their teeth.
In Longlong elementary school, for instance, Carmela Meris, the school principal, told IOL, "There is no water to speak of from the water pipes, the little water we use to wash the toilets is rainwater. This water cannot be used for brushing teeth."
"After the rainy days [are over], there is no water to flush and clean toilets. Where will the pupils get water to wash their hands and brush their teeth?"
Norma Degawan, a teacher at the same school, told IOL that implementation of the program is problematic as the schools must wait for the local authorities to buy the soap, toothbrushes and fluoride toothpaste.
"In our case, the provincial government said the toothbrushes will come June next year and the toothpaste also by March next year because there are no funds."
This absurdity angers parents.
Roger Cabigas, Longlong's president of the Parent and Teachers Association (PTA), told IOL that he believes the schools should not wait for governmental assistance as the problem needs immediate attention.
"The program should instead motivate parents to provide their own children with soap, toothpastes and toothbrushes," he opined.
However, this is more easily said than done. Most of the students' parents cannot afford to buy their children soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
"The government always says it does not have enough money while President Gloria Macapagl Arroyo was reported to have spent US$20,000 for one dinner and US$3,500 for a night's sleep," fumed Andrew Liclic, a father of two, symbolizing the national anger that erupted by the latest spending spree of Arroyo.
It seems quite outrageous that soap, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste are hard to come by. One wonders how many bars of soap could have been purchased if the US$20,000 had been used for this purpose.
Sources:
"About 10,000 Filipino Kids Die of Diarrhea Every Year." Xinhua. 13Sept. 2008. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Crisostomo, Sheila. "RP Second Largest Contributor to Diarrhea-Related Deaths."The Philippine Star. 13 Sept. 2008. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Esplanada, Jerry. "Worms, Dental Woes Bug Most School Kids – Survey." Inquirer. 9 Aug. 2007. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
"WHO: Diarrhea Still Major Child Killer."Agence France Presse. 10 March 2009. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Zimmermann, Daniel. "The Oral Health of Filipino Children is in an Alarming State." The Dental Tribune. Jul 22, 2009. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Michael A. Bengwayan is the director of PINE TREE, a non-profit organization working on ecological education, training, research and information. He is a Fellow of the Ford Foundation, Echoing Green Foundation, and Reinhard Mohn Foundation. He has a PhD and a master's degree in development studies, environmental science and rural development, respectively.
Director - PINE TREE
Carlo Calde, a 12 year old sixth grader from the Bagong Silang Elementary School, used to be top of his class. Today, he is at home, unwell, having missed school for 3 weeks while he is recovering from a serious intestinal worm infection.
He is one of the millions of Filipino children whom the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says are prevented from studying and excelling at school because of intestinal parasites, diarrhea or tooth decay.
Grim Statistics
At least 67 percent of students in public elementary schools in the Phillipines suffer from intestinal worm infections. But the statistics on diarrhea are even more grim.
Dr. Marisa Ricardo, a health specialist at UNICEF was quoted by the Phillippine Star as saying, "the Philippines is second to China as the biggest contributor to the number of diarrhea-related deaths in the world."
Diarrhea kills some two million people worldwide with 10,000 fatalities in the Philippines alone. Adding to these disturbing figures is the fact that 97 percent of all Filipino children are suffering from tooth decay. It was also found that 30 percent of all Filipino pre-school children are malnourished.
"Be it intestinal worms, diarrhea, toothache or hunger, all contribute drastically to the educational welfare of a child," said Dr. Angeline Calatan of the Department of Education of the Philipines (DepEd) to IslamOnline.net (IOL).
"Intestinal parasites and diarrhea physically weaken children, making them [very] sick and unable to concentrate on anything,"said Calatan.
There are a number of parasitic infections that can be acquired through ingestion of contaminated food and drink. Others are ingested when children play outside and then fail to wash their hands before eating such as in the case of the Ascaris worm, which is the most common parasitic infection in Filipino children.
Calatan, along with two other DepEd physicians, Abraham Ulep and Marcelino Samonte, were sent by the government to a number of schools in northern Philippines with hopes that they will be able to deliver a solution to this nationwide problem.
Together with hundreds of other doctors, they are implementing a program called Fit For School, an essential health care package aimed at reducing the number of pupils and children who are afflicted with intestinal parasites, diarrhea, toothache and malnutrition from the estimated 25 million children across the country.
"It is a tall order but they are willing to give it a try. We know the problems are gigantic but we have to start something we believe can mitigate the current situation," said Samonte to IOL.
"If we don't start now, the problem will be impossible to overcome resulting in massive dropouts in school and low educational comprehension for millions of children," he warned. "It will have tremendous economic, social, environmental and health impacts."
No Water, No Washing
Fit for School is a straightforward, practical effort involving different sectors to improve the health of Filipino children by institutionalizing school-based daily hand washing with soap and tooth brushing with fluoride toothpastes in schools and day care centers.
The program intends to reduce nationwide parasitism and oral infections by 50 percent, dental caries by 40 to 50 percent, the percentage of children with below average weight and height by 20 percent, and to increase school attendance by 30 percent. This should lead to an overall improvement in academic performance.
However, a major problem with the implementation of the program is that in many schools all over the country there is simply no water available for the children to wash their hands or brush their teeth.
In Longlong elementary school, for instance, Carmela Meris, the school principal, told IOL, "There is no water to speak of from the water pipes, the little water we use to wash the toilets is rainwater. This water cannot be used for brushing teeth."
"After the rainy days [are over], there is no water to flush and clean toilets. Where will the pupils get water to wash their hands and brush their teeth?"
Norma Degawan, a teacher at the same school, told IOL that implementation of the program is problematic as the schools must wait for the local authorities to buy the soap, toothbrushes and fluoride toothpaste.
"In our case, the provincial government said the toothbrushes will come June next year and the toothpaste also by March next year because there are no funds."
This absurdity angers parents.
Roger Cabigas, Longlong's president of the Parent and Teachers Association (PTA), told IOL that he believes the schools should not wait for governmental assistance as the problem needs immediate attention.
"The program should instead motivate parents to provide their own children with soap, toothpastes and toothbrushes," he opined.
However, this is more easily said than done. Most of the students' parents cannot afford to buy their children soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
"The government always says it does not have enough money while President Gloria Macapagl Arroyo was reported to have spent US$20,000 for one dinner and US$3,500 for a night's sleep," fumed Andrew Liclic, a father of two, symbolizing the national anger that erupted by the latest spending spree of Arroyo.
It seems quite outrageous that soap, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste are hard to come by. One wonders how many bars of soap could have been purchased if the US$20,000 had been used for this purpose.
Sources:
"About 10,000 Filipino Kids Die of Diarrhea Every Year." Xinhua. 13Sept. 2008. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Crisostomo, Sheila. "RP Second Largest Contributor to Diarrhea-Related Deaths."The Philippine Star. 13 Sept. 2008. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Esplanada, Jerry. "Worms, Dental Woes Bug Most School Kids – Survey." Inquirer. 9 Aug. 2007. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
"WHO: Diarrhea Still Major Child Killer."Agence France Presse. 10 March 2009. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Zimmermann, Daniel. "The Oral Health of Filipino Children is in an Alarming State." The Dental Tribune. Jul 22, 2009. Accessed 9 Oct. 2009.
Michael A. Bengwayan is the director of PINE TREE, a non-profit organization working on ecological education, training, research and information. He is a Fellow of the Ford Foundation, Echoing Green Foundation, and Reinhard Mohn Foundation. He has a PhD and a master's degree in development studies, environmental science and rural development, respectively.
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