DepED to use Brigada Eskwela for rabies awareness drive

The Department of Education (DepEd) is tapping its Brigada Eskwela program to raise awareness on rabies which remains a serious public health problem in the country, affecting mostly school-age children below 15 years old.

According to Education Secretary Leonor Briones, the annual cleanup and maintenance activity has been effective in ensuring the wellness and safety of students in schools.

Briones stressed that rabies, considered one of the most important zoonotic (transmittable from animals to human) diseases worldwide, remained a major health problem in the country. “Available data shows that children below 15 years old are mostly the victims of dog bites,” she said.

In the Philippines, rabies accounts for at least 200 deaths every year. The Department of Health listed a total of 783,879 animal bites nationwide in 2015.

To strengthen rabies education program through Brigada Eskwela, Briones said lectures on rabies would be conducted during the weeklong annual activity in all schools in coordination with the department.

The program is usually conducted a week before classes open in June. Last year, it drew over 11.6 million volunteers in 46,000 public schools nationwide.