Siquijor lone District Rep. Jake Vincent Villa is calling on the Department of Health (DOH) to provide grants to public and non-profit entities to implement activities on the prevention and management of asthma and related respiratory problems for low-income families and communities.
He made the call as the DOH identified respiratory disease, including asthma, as among the leading causes of death in the country.
“A global report showed that the Philippines is among the top countries that have a high mortality rate caused by asthma,” he said.
Villa filed House Bill No. 7374, the proposed Asthma Awareness, Education, and Treatment Act, seeking to authorize the DOH to carry out programs and grants regarding the prevention and management of asthma and related respiratory problems for low-income families and communities.
He noted that although no cure has been found for asthma, it can be controlled.
He said his measure aims “to lessen the effects of asthma and other related respiratory disease faced by our citizens living in poverty.”
HB 7374 directs the DOH Secretary to provide grants to public and non-profit private entities to carry out projects which will aid individuals in low-income families and communities. Such aid shall include, but not limited to: screening for and referrals regarding asthma and related respiratory problems; providing information dissemination and education on the symptoms, prevention, and monitoring and management of asthma and related respiratory problems; and holding or sponsoring workshops on the prevention and management of asthma and other lung diseases.
To receive a grant, an applicant must be a community-based organization that provides services in the low-income community in which the project is to be carried out.
The bill also calls for a national media campaign to provide asthma-related information. It authorizes the DOH Secretary to make awards of contacts to provide for a national media campaign to provide to the public and health care providers information on asthma and related respiratory problems.
Under HB 7374, the DOH Secretary, in consultation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shall initiate the conduct of research to determine the kind and extent of air pollutants that cause asthma and other related respiratory problems.
The bill calls for the creation of the National Asthma Education Prevention Program Coordination Committee to conduct local asthma surveillance activities to collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma and the quality of asthma management. The panel is also expected to compile and annually publish data on the prevalence of people, especially children suffering from asthma in each region, and mortality rate associated with asthma nationally and in each region.