/E-
rcmpo TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019
House pushes additional
funds for anti-polio drive
The House of Representatives
will seek additional tunds for the
massive anti-polio vaccination
campaign when the DroDosed
' 2020 ceneral nppropriations
eiil
is taken up for bicameral confer_
ence action, House DeDuty Minor_
ity Leader and Baqonq Henerasvon
Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera
revealed Wednesday.
Herrera said the first of the 13_
day day ofthe anti-polio camDaion
that started yesterday drew tie
support of tens of thousands in
Quezon City alone, and mav indi_
cate initial success of the Dublic
health drive.
"However, there is no assurance
that this demonstration of suDDort
could bring us back to the zero
polio incidence that prevailed
in 19
years until the polio threat recenflv
appeared," noted Herrera.
The lady solon led an anti-oolio
vaccination drive in
euezon City
as part of the worldwide End po_
lio Now drive initiated by Rotary
hternational. She is the curreni
governor of RI District 3780.
_ She called on colleagues in
Longress to increase the 2020
budgetary allocation for a nation_
wide anti-polio vaccination oro_
gram in order to help guarantee
the eradication of the dreaded
disease.
- Currently,
hve
only children below
years old are covered bv the
Children Health Immunizato; Act
of 2011 or Republic Act 10152-
The House version of the GAB
that wa! passed on final readino
last month granted the polio vacci
naronlrogram a budget under the
VurcK Response Fund of F250 mit_
lion for the Department of Health.
The DoH has proposed FBO0
million additional budget for the
mprementation of RA 10152. (Ben
Rosario) pgea