DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 Aug) — A councilor here is calling on the Department of Health to augment budget for the anti-rabies program of its regional office, and that of the City Veterinarian’s Office and the bite treatment centers because of the shortage of vaccines.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod, during its session on Tuesday, approved on first reading the resolution introduced by Councilor Pamela Librado-Morata for the DOH central office to help the Davao Region in the campaign against rabies.
The resolution cited that the DOH-Davao Region and the bite centers are “currently awaiting augmentation from the DOH central office to address the backlog.”
Earlier this year, Health Undersecretary Abdullah B. Dumama Jr., who was then DOH-XI regional director, acknowledged in a press conference that the anti-rabies program is underfunded.
In a report earlier this year, Mary Divene Hilario, rabies control program coordinator at DOH-XI, told MindaNews in an interview that the regional budget for the rabies program is only ₱1 million, but they receive an augmentation from the central office, which last year was ₱8 million.
For the first quarter of the year, DOH-XI has recorded seven deaths due to rabies.
Hilario said that every patient needs at least three doses of post-exposure prophylaxis, which is equivalent to 1.5 vials of the vaccine. Because of this, the previous year’s ₱8-million augmentation was insufficient, she added.
The resolution cites that the budget insufficiency has “prompt[ed] LGUs to allocate part of their funds for anti-rabies vaccination.”
“We are using the type of vaccine that can be shared by four patients, but the ₱9-million allocation is never going to be enough. That is why we encourage the local government units to purchase for their own constituents,” Hilario said.
In 2024, the region logged 193,173 animal bite cases with 36 deaths, a 50% increase compared from the previous year.
Although Davao City topped in having the most number of dogs vaccinated and in terms of percentage of the target dog population in a 2024 report by the Department of Agriculture – Davao (156,817 dogs vaccinated, representing 80.59% of the target 194,578), three deaths were recorded last year.
In the rest of the region, Davao del Norte recorded 13 deaths, an increase of more than 300% compared to the three cases in 2023; Davao de Oro posted seven deaths; Davao del Sur, five; Davao Occidental, four; and Davao Oriental, four. (Razl EJ Teman / MindaNews)
