Wellness drive for Parañaque elders

MANILA, Philippines - A multi-sectoral partnership program for elders promises to keep senior citizens of Parañaque villages healthy with the commitment and support of local officials and global healthcare leader MSD.

For a start, 100 senior citizens from Marcelo Green Village (MGV) and nearby communities were given protection from pneumonia by being vaccinated against the disease under the Aruga sa Nakatatanda program of the Barangay’s Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA).

The vaccination of the elders was conducted at the village hall with homeowners sponsoring the cost of the anti-pneumonia vaccines provided by MSD at a discounted price. The elders were also given free blood sugar test, blood pressure measurement and bone density scan to help diagnose diabetes, hypertension and osteoporosis.

The OSCA also conducted a seminar about the wellness drive for community senior citizens at the MGV Phase 4 basketball court three weeks before the health fair. More than 100 elders who attended the seminar entitled “Enabling Community to Care for the Elderly” learned from the doctors’ lectures about pneumonia, heart diseases, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

The Aruga sa Nakatatanda program, including the pneumonia vaccination and health seminar, is intended for the nearly 800 registered senior citizens of MGV, including homeowners.

Those who took advantage of the vaccination praised the project for giving homeowners the chance to be immunized at a lesser cost. The vaccination project likewise allowed homeowners to sponsor underprivileged elders to get vaccination against pneumonia.

Officers of MGV were more than glad to offer this opportunity to provide health education and disease prevention, especially to the elders who continue to serve their community. Pneumonia vaccination is just one of the many components of the Aruga sa Nakatatanda program.

MSD’s support to the pneumonia vaccination of MGV elders could not have come at a better time. Pneumonia is the fifth common cause of death among Filipinos and it is among the top five killer diseases in the Philippines. Pneumococcus bacteria can also lead to tonsilitis, sinusitis, otitis media, and meningitis or inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Pneumococcal vaccination can help prevent invasive forms of pneumococcal disease and pneumonia among at-risk groups, including the elderly.