Board member pushes for provincial epidemiology unit

CEBU, Philippines — Disease control and prevention is expected to improve in Cebu province once the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) gets institutionalized.

As part of the groundwork for its institutionalization, Board Member Stanley Caminero, a physician by profession and chairman of the PB Committee on Public Health, has sponsored a proposed ordinance for the purpose.

Under the measure, the proposed PESU under the Provincial Health Office (PHO) shall be responsible for the province-wide epidemiologic surveillance, reporting and response, as well as to plan, develop and implement ESU programs within the province in coordination with its regional counterpart.

Likewise, the PESU shall organize, train and supervise the Municipal, City and the Provincial/District Hospital Epidemiology and Surveillance Units of the province which, under the same draft ordinance, shall be mandatorily created.

According to Caminero, Cebu Province is one of the integrated sites, which committed for the full implementation of the Universal Health Care Act from 2019-2026.

The implementing rules and regulations of said law states that the health service delivery function refers to the management of the health service delivery operations of primary care provider networks, hospitals and other health facilities, clinical services, and public health programs including health promotion, epidemiologic surveillance, and disaster risk reduction and management, within the province-wide health system.

Republic Act 11332, or the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act,” also mandates the establishment of Epidemiology and Surveillance Units.

Under the law, the Department of Health, in coordination with the LGUs, shall ensure that the ESUs are established and functional in all levels of the DOH and its local counterparts, and public and private health facilities and laboratories, as well as seaports and airports in all provinces, cities, and municipalities throughout the country;

Caminero pointed out the state policy recognizing disease surveillance and response systems of the DOH and its local counterparts as the first line of defense to epidemics and health events of public concern that pose risk to public health and security.

“This body believes that effective disease control and prevention can be realized with a functional disease and surveillance system in the Province of Cebu,” he said.

The proposed PESU shall be headed by the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Officer (PESO) who shall hold the Position Title Senior Health Promotion Officer, which shall report directly to the Provincial Health Officer – I of Health Service Delivery Division.

All LGUs under the Province of Cebu, through their Rural Health Units, shall establish a functional City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU), Municipal Epidemiology and Surveillance Units (MESU).

The respective barangays of all LGUs are encouraged to establish Barangay Epidemiology and Surveillance Units (BESU) stationed at the Barangay Health Stations (BHS).

According to Caminero’s proposal, all government hospitals under the Province of Cebu, whether provincial, district, infirmary, LGU-retained or DOH-retained, are mandated to create their respective HESU attached under the Public Health Units of the facility.

Under the proposed ordinance, an initial sum of P3 million shall be appropriated from any available appropriation of the provincial government for that purpose. — JMD (FREEMAN)