ANGELES CITY -- The Angeles City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (ACDRRMC) recently held the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Emergencies training and seminar for barangay councils at the Angeles City Library Conference Hall.
According to ACDRRMC head Rochelle Aguilar, the training was meant to prepare teams for sanitation and hygiene measures to be implemented in evacuation centers.
"Itong training na ito, pini-prepare niya yung teams natin sa barangay level para sa needs for water, sanitation and hygiene sa evacuation centers. Para kung anuman ang mangyari, at kailangan natin i-activate ang ating evacuation centers, we have a WASH team that will make sure na ang standards sa pagtitiyak ng water, sanitation and hygiene sa mga evacuation centers ay na-mi-meet," Aguilar said.
The WASH team, according to Aguilar, could be from the particular barangay or the victims themselves in the evacuation center.
City Health Office Assistant Dr. Maria Cheryl Tuazon, for her part said that the training “emphasizes the importance of safet water, sanitation and promotion of hygiene during emergencies which could lead to reduction of morbidities and mortalities during disasters and emergencies.
She added that illnesses that are to be avoided during these mergencies are water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera and vector-borne diseases such as dengue and leptospirosis due to floods.
Dr. Tuazon noted that there is a need for toilet facilities and that there must be proper education to avoid certain diseases.
“Kasi kung unsanitary ang pagkakalagay nun, doon nanggagaling yung contamination ng fecal materials sa water,” she explained.
The three-day training was attended by city rural health officers, barangay disaster risk reduction and management committees and ACDRRM officials.