VERA Files, a group I’m part of (we produce in-depth stories on subjects that matter) will be conducting a training for journalists on Road Safety.
Following is VERA Files’ announcement of the Road Safety Journalism Fellowship:
Road crashes are among the leading causes of death in the Philippines.
The 2015 World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety estimates 10,379 fatalities in the country a year, half of them motorcycle riders, followed by pedestrians.
There’s a petition at Change.org initiated by the Philippine College of Physicians, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance, PH and Philippine Medical Association directed at the owners of three convenience stores to remove cigarettes from their stocks in branches near the schools.
The petition cites Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9211 (Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003) which clearly states: “The sale or distribution of tobacco products is prohibited within one hundred (100) meters from any point of the perimeter of a school, public playground or other facility frequently particularly by minors.”
Health officials led by Secretary Janette Garin, Undersecretary for Technical Services Vicente Y. Belisario and Undersecretary for Health Regulations Kenneth Y. Hartigan-Go had written way back in July the owners of 7-eleven (Jose Victor Pardo), MiniStop (Robina Y. Gokongwei-Pe) and Family Mart (Anthony T. Huang) asking for their cooperation in enforcing the law.
But it was not so when a routine check-up last march showed a PSA (Prostatic Specific Antigen) level of over 100 when the normal count is only from zero to four.
Further tests revealed that he has prostate cancer.
The initial reaction was denial and hoping that it would be cured without going through the dreaded surgery and chemotherapy.
The health community is awaiting with bated breath the decision of President Aquino on Ona, who is embroiled in the controversy over the P800 million purchase of a pneumonia vaccine.
The result of the investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation on the issues raised against Ona would be an important consideration in the President’s decision.
If the President decides to retain Ona, that means he is cleared of all the issues against him.
This week, another issue came up: Ona’s authorization of the use for the treatment of dengue and malaria of a drug that did not pass clinical trial.
I’m staggered by the justifications of Health Acting Secretary Janet Garin and Armed Forces Chief Gregorio Pio Catapang,Jr.of their visit to the quarantined peacekeepers in Caballo Island in Cavite which Malacañang approves.
Garin and Catapang have drawn flak for what many see as violation of the idea of quarantine.
The peacekeepers from Ebola-stricken Liberia are on 21-day quarantine, an international procedure to prevent the deadly virus from spreading.
Nakakatuwa ang mag-cover kay Flavier dahil sa maliban sa mabait at hindi mayabang, grabe sa galing ng kanyang sense of humor. Tawa kami ng tawa kapag ini-interview namin siya.
Bilang lider ng Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, maraming taon na sa mga baryo niya ginugol ang kanyang panggagamot. Ang kanyang karanasan sa pagta-trabaho sa mga baryo ay mababasa sa kanyang libro, “Doctor to the Barrios.”
Sa aking pag-cover kay Flavier ng siya ay health secretary noong administrasyon ni Pangulong Fidel V. Ramos, marami akong kuwento at insidente na buhay na buhay sa aking ala-ala. Ngunit ang isa sa palagi kong ibinabahagi sa iba ay ang kanyang kuwento ng iba’t-ibang paraan nagpapasalamat ang mga tao sa probinsiya (dinadalhan siya ng maraming gulay, manok, kambing at baboy) nang siya ay guest speaker sa Cosmopolitan Church sa Taft Avenue.
Today’s fad is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
ALS stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis described in a website on ALS as “a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.”
A friend who has a member of the family afflicted with ALS likened the patient to “a vegetable.”
On weekend outings, it takes a lot of will power not to overeat.
Their breakfast buffet offers nutritious drinks: There’s one for cleansing: a greenish concoction of red apple,Lemon, celery stalk, carrot, parsley stem, cucumber and ginger.
There is another one for those who want to lose weight. A mixture of carrots, cucumber, cabbage and orange. For diabetics, they a combination of carrot, celery, and green apple juice.
The wealth of a nation is its people.
It goes without saying that a healthy population is a prerequisite for a country to progress.Healthy citizens live longer and are more productive.
Sylwander, from Sweden, was a backpack tourist way back in the 70’s and 80’s. She met and married (they are now divorced) someone from the Rojas family of Cavite. They have two children.
Sylwander arrived in Manila last April and has since immersed herself in UNICEF’s various projects with major focus on typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)–ravaged areas.
An anthropologist, Sylwander was previously assigned in Vietnam and Zambia.
She is with Bangladeshi Zafrin Chowdhury, chief of Communication and Private Fundraising and Partnership, UNICEF Philippines, who arrived here more than eight months ago, just before the super typhoon struck the Philippines claimed the lives of some 10,000 people, and displaced tens of thousands more.