By Jel Santos

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements (IFRC) donated nearly P20 million or a total of 336, 700 US dollars to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to support the organization’s house-to-house visit to administer Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) in the country.

PRC said that it is targeting to vaccinate around 20,000 children in Metro Manila.

The donation, IFRC said, was derived from its disaster relief emergency fund.

In preparation for the Synchronized OPV administering in the National Capital Region and Mindanao on October 14 to 27, PRC held a Technical Training on Polio and Response Planning workshop.

This is to address the polio outbreak in the country which re-emerged after 19 years of being polio-free.

According to PRC, the volunteers from NCR and Mindanao Chapters were trained on proper handling and distribution of the OPV, the correct way of disposing of the OPV vials, and were also briefed on the updates and initiatives of the government concerning polio.

The NCR and Mindanao Chapters will play a crucial role in the mass immunization as they will impart the information they learned from the training session to PRC chapters’ staff and volunteers who will assist in administering OPV to children from October to January 2020.

PRC Chairman Richard Gordon said that they are working closely together with the Department of Health (DOH) to fight the dreaded polio disease.

“It is through vaccines and proper hygiene and sanitation that we will be able to combat polio. PRC works hand in hand with the DOH in eradicating poliomyelitis. Every child aged 0-5 years old must be vaccinated. The Red Cross is always first, always ready and always there in serving the most vulnerable,”

he said in a statement sent to the media.

“It is through the power of pool of volunteers that the Red Cross can help our partners in fighting polio in the upcoming ‘Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio,’” Gordon said.

Polio is a communicable disease caused by poliovirus, which can be spread from person to person through fecal to mouth route and also through water and food contaminated with the said virus.