The Allied Against Dengue movement: Saving lives through engagement, empowerment, and education

[Editor’s Note: The following is a press release from Allied Against Dengue]

MANILA, Philippines — Rodrigo and Gloria’s firstborn daughter was named Leila. She was a very cheerful kid who enjoyed basking under the sun and playing outdoor games. One morning, Leila woke up with a very high fever. She cried out from pain in her joints and had rashes all over her body.

Rodrigo and Gloria decided to self-medicate and let Leila stay at home for a couple of days, thinking she only had a flu. However, Leila’s condition continued to worsen. When they finally decided to bring Leila to the hospital, they were surprised to find out that their daughter had dengue. The doctor said that Leila’s platelet count dropped excessively, and had they not brought her to the hospital, she could have died.

Leila’s battle with dengue is among thousands similar cases happening every year in the Philippines. Each year, dengue cases continue to increase and majority of its victims are children.

An overview of dengue in PH

Dengue is the fastest-growing vector-borne infection in the world. Southeast Asia is the epicenter of dengue mosquito breeding due to its tropical climate, and the Philippines remains 1 of 4 countries in the world experiencing an annual rise in dengue cases. Between the months of January and August 2016 alone, the Department of Health reported a total number of 84,085 patients with dengue.

Committed to helping build communities of people able to do more, feel better, and live longer, GlaxoSmithKline Philippines launched the Allied Against Dengue Philippines (AAD) movement last July 12 to address this pressing public health concern. Composed of like-minded leaders, the coalition galvanizes all forces and efforts to unite, take action, and defeat dengue. The movement hopes to reduce the impact of dengue on the nation through the empowerment of healthcare providers, private and public organizations, and communities. 

Engagement

The AAD movement established 7 valuable partnerships with key stakeholders that had corresponding responsibilities and commitments to the campaign.

The Department of Health (DOH) provided a keynote speaker during the press launch and endorsed the campaign to the Department of Education for the distribution of the DOH Dengue Primers in public schools in Metro Manila.

The Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPHA) has integrated the Prevention and Management of Dengue Fever in the review curriculum of Pharmacists in the Philippines and aided in conducting Pharmacists Training on Dengue Management in 5 identified chapters in Metro Manila. 

Mercury Drug Corporation (MDC) permitted the deployment of 35 Dengue Zone Tactical Bins in identified branches and the use of TV concessions to play the Allied Against Dengue Recruitment video. 

SmartParenting provided event coverage during the press launch and published an online aggregate page containing Dengue-related articles.

CNN Philippines generously produced 2 videos for free: a post-event and an Allied Against Dengue Campaign plug which were both aired in their television program: Serbisyo All Access.

2 celebrities also participated as campaign influencers: Television Host/Actress and Calpol Brand Ambassador, Jolina Magdangal-Escueta and Lifestyle Blogger and a mom to 2 healthy kids, Rowena Wendy Lim-Lei of Animetric.net.

Empowerment

To date, the movement has empowered as many as 65,000 individuals through the dissemination of the DOH dengue primers and Allied Against Dengue leaflets. 50,000 DOH dengue primers were distributed to public school students through the school tour of the campaign and 15,000 AAD dengue leaflets were given to pediatricians in different clinics across the Philippines.

Through its partnership with the Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPHA), 5 Chapter Seminars on Dengue Awareness and Prevention were conducted in 5 dengue hotspots in Metro Manila: Quezon, Pasig, Caloocan, Valenzuela, and Malabon. Among those present were 500 pharmacists and a total of 18,615 DOH Dengue Primers were distributed.  

The continued empowerment of dengue warriors helped optimize awareness of prevention and management of dengue fever particularly in hotspot areas. 


Visibility was also a key element in the success of the AAD campaign. Various methods of information dissemination were optimized through different channels. Among these were online articles, webvertorials, videos, news articles, and radio and television guestings with Calpol Brand Ambassador Jolina Magdangal-Escueta and Philippine Pediatric Society Vice President Sally Gatchallian, as well as trusted parenting blogs to begin a broader discourse about dengue. At present, GSK has garnered P8 million in media values alongside the invaluable importance of having made a difference in dengue awareness and education.

The AAD movement was also present in 35 branches of Mercury Drug Stores (MDC) through the deployment of the Dengue Zone Tactical Bins. An informative Allied Against Dengue Recruitment Video was also played in the drug stores to educate shoppers and recruit more dengue warriors. It is noteworthy to emphasize that the average sales of Calpol has significantly grown +205% in these branches because of the aforementioned AAD activities.  

Education

As many as 10,285 public school students were recruited as dengue warriors in 5 elementary schools in 4 identified dengue hotspot cities in Quezon City, Makati, Taguig, and Caloocan. Through the school tour, both students and faculty were educated on dengue awareness and prevention through informative talks and activities. A total of 31,385 DOH Dengue Primers were distributed during the school activations.  

This robust nationwide education campaign through multiple channels has significantly made a lasting positive impact on increasing dengue awareness and prevention through engagement, empowerment, and education. Allied Against Dengue sought, and continues to seek, to curb the incidence growth rate and ultimately make a real difference on the lives of Filipinos. 

For more information on Allied Against Dengue and how to be an ally, contact the organization at 1800-14441-0884 / 1800-8908-8275 or send an email to ph.customer-relations@gsk.com.