In support of the month-long nationwide children's vaccination campaign against measles, rubella and polio, Quirino governor and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) president Dax Cua renewed his call to fellow local leaders to step up their efforts against vaccine-preventable diseases.

"We have to work in tandem with the national government to vaccinate our kids and avoid another public health crisis," Cua said.

"I renew my call to my fellow local leaders to do our part. Let's step up our efforts to convince parents to bring their kids for vaccination," he added.

The Department of Health (DOH) is set to conduct the “Chikiting Ligtas” supplemental immunization campaign across the country from May 1 to 31.

This, as a report published by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),# found that the Philippines has one million zero-dose kids, the second highest in East Asia and the Pacific region and the fifth highest worldwide.

The Unicef also noted that public perception on vaccines' importance for children declined in the Philippines by about 25 percent, which is one of the steepest declines among 55 countries it studied.

Besides stepping up local government units' respective information campaigns, Cua said that LGUs should also explore ways that would make vaccination convenient for parents and children.  He added that more efforts should also be exerted to convince families in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) to get their children vaccinated.

The governor also urged local leaders to reach out to the communities, especially GIDAs, since this kind if activities are considered 'second nature' to them.

"As proven by the recent pandemic, we ahve proven that indeed vaccines work. I hope that with this coming nationwide vaccination drive, we can close the gap and give unvaccinated children the protection they need," Cua also said. (Miriam J. Padua/ULAP)