Davao City — Davao City – Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) in a regional conference on mercury phase-out and proper health care waste management in Southern Mindanao today called on the Department of Health (DoH) to report on the status of the mercury phase-out agenda the latter presented almost a month ago.
“We are nearing the 9-11 deadline for mercury phase-out in health care in the country,” said Faye Ferrer, HCWH-SEA Program Officer for Mercury in Health Care. “DoH has given the public their commitment to step-up mercury phase-out and other issues related to mercury in health care. It has been a month since.”
DoH Administrative Order 21 mandates the gradual phase-out of mercury in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions by September 11, 2010.
Earlier in February, in a meeting between HCWH-SEA and DoH Secretary Esperanza Cabral, DoH presented a 6-point agenda to a mercury-free Philippines. Among these are: (a) non-issuance of permit to medical devices distributors to sell mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers, (b) information dissemination on the provisions of AO 21 to local government units who are managing the barangay health units, rural health units, city heath and municipal, district and provincial hospitals, (c) follow-up on the release of the 2009 General Appropriations Act 13.2 million allocation for the purchase of non-mercurial devices to 66 government-controlled hospitals, (d) follow-up on the state of the more than 20 student victims of mercury poisoning in St. Andrew’s School in Paranaque in 2006, (e) continuation of the program to replace mercury devices in hospitals, and (f) ban of mercury importation in the country.
The group hopes that the DoH pronouncements are not mere talks or promises.
“In the regional conferences we co-organized with DoH-Center for Health Development, it is very disheartening to know that several hospitals are not even aware of AO 21 and several more are still religiously using their existing mercurial devices,” said Ferrer.
“The danger of mercury is not something that we must take lightly. AO 21 and the possibility of banning mercury in the country are all very good. But it needs implementation and proper guidelines.” Ferrer pointed out.
Earlier, after DoH’s pronouncements that households may bring their mercury thermometers to government hospitals or the Environment Management Bureau (EMB), HCWH-SEA issued guidelines on temporarily storing mercury thermometers at home. There was no directive from the DoH on how households may go about in surrendering their thermometers.
“While we are patiently awaiting DoH to issue the guidelines, we at HCWH-SEA are doing what we can to appease the public and not create panic on storing and disposing mercury devices,” added Ferrer.
The group is likewise appealing to the presidentiables to be supportive of mercury-free Philippines and other green health care agenda. In the Green Health Covenant signed by more than 1,000 health care facilities from Regions 1, 2, 4A and 7, the group is enjoining candidates to help create a situation where a greener health care will thrive.