The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act has been signed into law last March 23, 2020 to ramp up efforts to fight COVID-19, including social safety nets and PhilHealth medical assistance to health workers and volunteers who risk their own lives in order to save the lives of others. Government will provide emergency subsidy to around 18 million low income households, to ensure that families have access to food and other basic needs in light of the heavy economic cost of the pandemic. “Finally! The Senate has adopted our amendments. Kung kinaya ng ibang bansa na lampasan ang pandemic na ito, kaya rin natin. To the Filipino people – yes, we can and yes, we will. Fight we must, win we must!”, said PRC Chairman and Senator Richard Gordon via Facebook, referring to his crucial amendments to the law, paving way for the P100,000 safety net for each healthcare worker infected by COVID-19, and a P1 million allocation each for bereaved families of healthcare workers who pass away in the line of duty. To better address COVID-19, the legislation identifies Philippine Red Cross as a key partner of the government in the distribution of goods and services to prevent and respond to the effects of the pandemic. As “auxiliary” to the public authorities in the humanitarian field, the Philippine Red Cross, supported by its worldwide Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners, is mandated by the Philippine Red Cross Act (RA 10072) and international law to provide life-saving humanitarian aid, alleviating the suffering of people wherever they may be found. The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act emphasizes and strengthens this auxiliary role of the prime humanitarian volunteer organization in the country, to support and supplement government efforts in these challenging and volatile times. Even prior to the passage of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, Philippine Red Cross staff and volunteers had been mobilizing resources and providing relief assistance and pandemic prevention kits to communities, through Red Cross Chapters in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. 1,137 liters of disinfectant solution had been donated to the Bulacan Red Cross Chapter, which it will then distribute to hospitals, barangay tanods, and other community frontliners. The Davao de Oro Red Cross Chapter provided tents to serve as 14-day quarantine facilities for some passengers traveling from other parts of the Philippines, with Compostela Red Cross Chapter providing beds and water, ensuring respect for human dignity in humanitarian aid. Philippine Red Cross Headquarters had also set up a 24/7-hour Red Cross hotline (1158) to address questions regarding COVID-19 symptoms and precautions, with volunteer doctors advising whether hospitalization may be required. Volunteer social workers also provide mental and psychosocial support to callers as part of Philippine Red Cross’ support to mental health. This helps decongest overwhelmed medical facilities by providing a first layer screening. There have been 128 calls received, the highest volume on March 24 after the new law was passed. There are currently 53 call center volunteers, and Philippine Red Cross welcomes more volunteers to serve the increasing volume of callers each day.

Manila/Kuala Lumpur/Geneva 2 October 2019 - Polio has made an alarming come-back after officially being eradicated 19 years ago in the Philippines. The Philippine Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are scaling up to help contain the highly infectious virus. On 19 September, a three-year-old girl was diagnosed with polio, the Philippines’ first confirmed case since 2000. A five-year-old boy has since tested positive. The polio virus was also detected in Manila’s sewage and the waterways of Davao in Mindanao. Low immunization rates have contributed to the outbreak. Polio is mainly transmitted by food, water or hands contaminated with human faeces containing the virus, so good hygiene is vital. Philippine Red Cross Chairman, Richard Gordon said: “We have mobilized all our chapters to coordinate with the health department and local officials and to provide the full support of volunteers for mass immunization and updating the list of all zero to five-year-old children and get their vaccination status. This will help us identify the areas with the highest risk of polio based on low vaccination coverage as well as the lack oftoilets and limited running water." The IFRC has released 336,302 Swiss francs (336,700 US dollars) from its disaster relief emergency fund to support the Philippine Red Cross in Mindanao and Metro Manila to go house-to-house to vaccinate in high-risk areas including in informal settlements and hard-to-reach areas, and children who have missed out on vaccinations. Social mobilization teams and an information campaign will target 1.2 million people with messages on the importance of vaccination. Head of the IFRC Philippines Country Office, Chris Staines said: “We are very concerned that the resurgence of polio in the Philippines puts 11 million Filipino children under five at high risk of disability and even death. We appeal to all parents to protect their children against the virus during this massive, synchronized nationwide campaign. The Philippines has eradicated polio before, and together we can do it again.” According to the World Health Organization, polio, which has no cure, can be prevented with multiple doses of a safe and effective vaccine. More than two billion children globally are protected against polio through these vaccinations. This is the third health emergency this year that the Philippine Red Cross has responded to, with babies and young children disproportionately affected. During a measles outbreak in February, the Red Cross cared for 3,400 patients by setting up seven measles care units in tents outside six hospitals, vaccinated nearly 17,000 children between six months and five years of age, and reached more than 1.9 million people with life-saving information. In response to a dengue outbreak, the Red Cross cared for 5,000 patients in nine emergency medical units set up at eight hospitals, and reached 120,000 people with messages on dengue prevention and management. Philippines Red Cross volunteers continue to respond to both of these ongoing health emergencies, even as they scale up to face the urgent risks of polio.

Manila/Kuala Lumpur/Geneva, 26 July 2019 – Urgent action is needed to contain a dengue outbreak in the Philippines as cases continue to soar and an unprecedented nationwide emergency alert is issued, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Philippine Red Cross are warning. The Philippines is experiencing an alarming dengue outbreak with more than 115,000 cases reported since the beginning of the year – 85 per cent more than during the same period in 2018. To date, dengue has already led to 491 deaths, 30 per cent of them children between the ages of 5 and 9. The significant spike in dengue is particularly alarming as the monsoon season is only starting in the country. Dengue cases peak during and after monsoon rains, raising concerns that a severe epidemic may threaten the nation in the coming months. The Philippine Red Cross is supporting government efforts to stem the outbreak. Philippines Red Cross Chairman and CEO, Richard Gordon said: “Dengue is one of the fastest spreading viral diseases and children are particularly vulnerable. Tens of thousands of patients are streaming into overcrowded hospitals. Our 2 million volunteers across the country are in the communities raising awareness about preventing infections and when to seek treatment, organising clean-up drives for mosquito breeding sites and supporting overcrowded hospitals.” The IFRC has released nearly 150,000 Swiss francs (7.2 million Philippine peso) from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to support the Philippine Red Cross scale up dengue treatment tents at ten hospitals and provide volunteer nursing staff to care for up to 15,000 patients and their family members. The Red Cross is targeting 300,000 people in at-risk communities with critical information on getting early treatment. Chris Staines, the Head of IFRC’s Philippines office said: “We need to work together to save lives and contain the outbreak which we fear will worsen during the monsoon. Dengue can be stopped in its tracks, but families need to protect themselves from mosquito bites and seek medical treatment if they experience any symptoms such as high fever, headaches, nausea and joint pains.” The current spike in dengue infections comes at the same time as the Philippines continues to deal with a deadly measles outbreak that has stretched healthcare capacities across the country. Elsewhere in South-East Asia, Red Cross teams in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam are also responding to spiking dengue cases.

Last year, Marietta Laneslao (far left in the picture) celebrated 20 years as a Philippine Red Cross volunteer. Along the way she has also recruited plenty of people starting with her own family: her husband, children, nieces, nephews… altogether she has organized new volunteers for 18 barangays or communities. “As a volunteer, my favorite activity is blood donation and recruiting more volunteers into that,” she says. During the past months with the measles outbreak, Marietta Laneslao has been busy organizing and coordinating roving vaccination teams in her home-town of Santa Rosa in Laguna province. Local knowledge is essential when teams go around looking for unvaccinated children, ready to give the shot on the spot, if the parents so wish. “I am happy and proud to be part of the services that the Red Cross offers to communities. And I am also happy to constantly learn new skills,” says Marietta Laneslao, who had her right arm amputated in an operation. She recognizes that some volunteers have to stop because they need to find paid work. “It is sad but of course very understandable. But I always say that they are welcome back later! Talking and working with other volunteers makes me smile and happy. The team’s volunteer spirit gives me the strength to go on even after 20 years."

By Leena Reikko, IFRC For the past several weeks, the Philippine Red Cross emergency healthcare unit in the Philippines have been tending to the youngest of patients, children and babies coughing with fever, and whose bodies and faces are covered in red rashes. In early February, the local authorities declared a measles outbreak and since then 355 people have died, most of them children under 5 years of age. But these patients are not the only ones at risk. Mothers treating their children in hospitals are now threatened by the same virus. “We are in an acute phase of a chronic humanitarian situation. It is not only one generation that missed the measles vaccination. While the mothers do not have antibodies to pass to their children, they themselves are at risk too,” says Gopal Mukherjee, the health programme manager with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in the Philippines. Many communities living in overcrowded barangays and in remote areas are also facing a challenge in getting to vaccination centers. Because of this, some parents push vaccinations to later dates, and even forget how important it is to vaccinate. This situation is worsened by the low level of immunity among communities in the Philippines, which makes the virus just as deadly after the peak of the measles crisis. While it is a contagious virus, measles can be easily avoided through vaccination. “My son was not vaccinated because we have been so busy. It has just not been possible”, says Rosaly Abitona, 35, while she comforts her one-year-old son, John Carl, who had fallen ill a day earlier and taken to hospital. The development of measles in the Philippines has been alarming. There was a 547 per cent spike from 4,000 cases of measles in 2017 to 21,812 cases in 2018. By the end of March this year, almost 26,000 people have been infected. The Philippine Red Cross with has carried out mass vaccinations in the worst-affected districts, immunizing more than 15,500 children to date. They are also running campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of vaccinations to stop this virus from spreading further.

Manila / Kuala Lumpur / Geneva, 14 March 2019 – An estimated 3.7 million children under five in the Philippines are at risk during a measles outbreak that has already claimed 286 lives, most of them children or babies, the Red Cross is warning. Deaths from measles are already 42 per cent higher this year than for all of 2018, when 202 people died. It is estimated that 3.7 million children under five have never been vaccinated and have no protection to the highly contagious virus, which is still spreading. Health experts estimate that every person sick with the measles could infect up to 18 others. Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon said: “We are in the grip of a measles outbreak that, tragically, is hitting the very young hardest. The Red Cross has been crucial in restoring people’s confidence in vaccines, which makes it easier now to convince parents to get their children vaccinated. But we are aiming for a 100 per cent immunisation rate.” Of 286 deaths so far this year, 110 have been of babies under nine months old. The median age of those who’ve died is just two years old. Since 10 February, the Philippine Red Cross, supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), has been working with the Department of Health to support patients and their families. The Red Cross has set up tents with cots and bedding to reduce over-crowding and give care to measles patients. It has set up welfare desks, portable water and sanitation facilities, and hygiene equipment inside hospitals. The Red Cross has also called for volunteer doctors and nurses to help during a mass vaccination campaign. The aim is to ensure vaccination of all children aged six months to five years. Head of the IFRC Philippines Country Chris Staines said: “With experts warning that the outbreak could last for months, potentially not stabilising until May, many more lives are at risk. This is a preventable tragedy. We have no time to lose and no time to be complacent. We need to support Philippines Red Cross staff and volunteers today in their life-saving actions.” The Philippine Red Cross has a strong capacity to complement the government’s response to the outbreak, with over 2 million volunteers. Red Cross staff and volunteers are already playing a key role informing, educating and warning communities about the early signs and symptoms of measles, and what action to take. The Red Cross has already given vaccinations to more than 13,500 children. But to be able to support the Department of Health to protect all children aged six months to five years in the highest risk areas as soon as possible, IFRC is appealing to donors and partners to contribute 2 million Swiss francs (1.9 million US dollars / 105 million Philippine pesos). ENDS About measles[1] Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by a virus. It affects mostly children but people of any age who have not been vaccinated against measles can be infected. Measles spreads very easily. The virus lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person. It canspreadto others through coughing and sneezing. The virus can live for up to two hours in an airspace where the infected person coughed or sneezed. People usually get sick about 10 to 12 days after getting infected with the virus. The symptoms include red eyes, runny nose, fever (as high as 1040F/ 400C) and skin rashes for more than three to seven days. Infected people are most contagious from about four days before their rash starts until four days afterwards. Complications include diarrhea, middle ear infection, pneumonia, swelling of the brain, malnutrition and blindness. Complications may lead to death. There is no specific treatment for the virus, although severe complications can be avoided. Measles can be effectively prevented by vaccination. According to the WHO, between 2000 and 2017, measles vaccination resulted in an 80 per cent drop in deaths worldwide. In 2017, about 85 per cent of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 72 per cent in 2000. [1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles

Manila/Kuala Lumpur/Geneva, 7 March 2019 – Children in the Philippines are at serious risk of a deadly measles outbreak that has already claimed the lives of 261 people, most of whom are youngsters under age five, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned today. The spread of measles has been on the rise in the Philippines in recent years due to a range of reasons including low vaccination rates across the country. In 2018, cases were up 547 per cent compared to 2017. Already this year there has been more deaths from measles than was recorded in 2018 when 202 people died from the disease. Worryingly the death rate from this year’s outbreak is higher than in 2018 and the number of cases continues to rise. Philippines Red Cross Chairman and CEO, Richard Gordon said: “Some 2.6 million children could be at risk, so we are drawing on the skills and dedication of our two million Red Cross volunteers to go door-to-door and neighbourhood-to-neighbourhood to reach 100 per cent of our unvaccinated children in the country within 12 months. The Philippines Red Cross, in close cooperation with the Department of Health, is rolling out a massive social mobilization campaign across seven of the hardest hit regions to provide vaccination and raise awareness in an effort to contain the outbreak. With many local hospitals overwhelmed, the Red Cross is also operating seven measles tents (Measles Care Units) to help with the clinical management and medical care of highly contagious patients, and to prevent the infection of other patients and visitors coming to the hospitals. IFRC has launched an emergency appeal of 2 million Swiss francs (1.99 million US dollars) to enable Philippines Red Cross to vaccinate 260,000 people, raise awareness about immunization and provide clinical support for 12 over-crowded hospitals. Recent global declines in vaccination rates resulted in more than 110,000 measles deaths worldwide in 2017. The Philippines outbreak coincides with other measles outbreaks across Europe, the United States, New Zealand and Madagascar where declines in vaccination rates have also been observed.

More than 8,440 cases of measles – including 136 deaths from the disease - have been recorded in several regions of the Philippines, including the capital city Manila. In response, the authorities are working with the Philippine Red Cross and the World Health Organization to ramp up public information campaigns and vaccination activities in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan. The Red Cross is also employing interventions to increase vaccine coverage and care and support for people currently in hospitals. Although cases of measles have been on the increase in the Philippines in recent years, there was a 547 per cent spike from 4,000 cases in 2017 to 21,818 cases in 2018. More than 200 people died, most of them children.