TACLOBAN CITY -- Latter-day Saint Charities (LDSC), the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has donated vaccine storage boxes and cards to boost the routine immunization program of the Department of Health (DOH) in Eastern Visayas, Tuesday, March 29.
The LDSC handed over five bio-thermal packaging boxes and 50,000 pieces of vaccination cards to support the DOH regional office immunization program.
DOH is eyeing to administer vaccines to 219,710 children in the provinces of Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar this year.
DOH Eastern Visayas assistant regional director Rodolfo Antonio Albornoz thanked the organization for its support to the National Immunization Program (NIP) this year.
“We need to strengthen our linkages and partnerships with stakeholders such as the Latter-day Saints Charities. Sharing your resources in support of our NIP will contribute to the eventual realization of our goal for a healthy Filipino child,” Albornoz said.
LDSC manager Norman Dolorfino said that for this year alone, the organization is setting aside P10 million to support the government’s immunization program in the Philippines.
“The DOH has chosen to allocate these funds primarily for 68 sets of cold storage vaccine transport boxes and 670,000 vaccine cards to track vaccines for families. Deliveries will be facilitated in 17 DOH regional offices,” Dolorfino added.
Jhumer Operio, the Church’s Tacloban Stake (diocese) president, said they are always open for partnership with the health department to curb vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B, and flu.
“We partner with the government to bring the purposes of the Lord as we care not only for the spiritual being, but temporal and physical welfare of people as well,” Operio told DOH officials.