Monday, May 23, 2005
Poor health hits Cebu's schools
CEBU CITY -- Thousands of students in Cebu Province have upper respiratory tract infections, skin diseases and dental problems because of poor sanitation and lack of water.
The education department's health personnel found this out after inspecting 80 percent of the public elementary and secondary school population in the province last school year.
Cebu Schools Division officials said that despite limited resources and hazards, the 58 dentists, nurses and aides managed to check 273,262 students from 60 schools.
That means each worker handled up to 22,000 students.
Dr. Virgilio Tantuico, health and nutrition section chief, said a poor standard of living in some areas showed in the prevalence of skin diseases and pediculosis, or the presence of lice in kids.
According to data on the common ailments among elementary and secondary students from June 2004 to March 2005, 1,608 males and 5,675 females suffered from pediculosis.
Bad teeth
Tinia flava, locally known as "ap-ap," topped the list of skin diseases, with 5,445 males and 3,385 females affected.
Of the 273,262 students inspected, over 82,000 of them reported dental problems, like tooth decay, misaligned teeth and gum diseases.
Aside from dental problems and skin diseases, over 23,000 students suffered from cough, colds and allergies.
About 11,000 had minor injuries, such as wounds, sprain and burns. Over 600 others had communicable diseases, including warts, chickenpox, mumps, measles and sore eyes.
Dr. Glynnis Guinocor, the division's dentist in-charge, said they have required first grade pupils to bring to school a health kit containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, nail cutter and cotton buds for lessons on hygiene.
The parents will have to buy the health kits themselves.
Tantuico said that since theirs is the biggest school division in the country, budget for medicines and supplies is not enough. Last year, enrolment reached 322,356.
Hazard pay
Aside from limited budget, the division is also losing medical personnel, especially nurses, to employment abroad.
With only 24 nurses, 17 dentists and 17 dental aides, each health worker takes charge of four to five school districts, or between 16,000 to 22,000 students from over 60 schools.
Reynaldo Payot, the division's nurse in-charge, said that with the limited budget for transportation, some nurses sometimes spent their own money to reach remote barangays.
"We experience difficulties considering the terrain and distance of some areas. Towns like Asturias and Tuburan are also infested by insurgents posing risks to our lives," he said.
He said they only get P12,000 monthly and a P1,025 monthly allowance.
Rural health nurses, he added, are better off since they get P14,000, a P1,600 allowance and hazard pay for serving only children under five years old in their municipalities.
Tantuico hopes the workers could be given hazard pay. He said a nurse broke her jaw recently after falling off a habal-habal and a dentist lost money to robbers during a bus ride she took while on duty.
Tantuico said that for this school year, they will again prioritize schools in isolated areas and those they hadn't visited last year. (CYR)
(May 23, 2005 issue)
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