Latter-Day Saint Charities (LDSC), the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, donated four sets of vaccine transport boxes and 3000 vaccine cards to boost the routine immunization program of the Department of Health (DOH) Region 1.
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The DOH said more than half of the vaccine-eligible children born during the Covid-19 pandemic – around 1.4 million children – have not had a single vaccine.
DOH on Tuesday launched the annual vaccination drive, "Chikiting Bakunation Days," which will run from April to June 2022 nationwide.
The program aims to reach at least one million children to receive routine vaccinations.
The vaccine carriers donated by LDSC help keep the vaccine's potency, which will be delivered and facilitated to rural communities around the area.
Dr. Paula Paz M. Sydiongco, Regional Director for DOH Region 1 mentioned that the boxes could maintain a temperature of -25 Celsius for 16 hours, which will also be helpful for areas where there are no Ultra-Low Freezers (ULF) for vaccine storage.
Last year, the Department of Health (DOH) recognized LDSC for its contributions to the department's campaign implementation of the Measles Rubella-Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity, a campaign organized to ensure that children receive life-saving vaccines for severe diseases amid the pandemic.
To LDSC, she said, "Thank you so much for these donations. These will surely help us in our goal to immunize 63,000 children between the ages of 5-11 years old in our area. Thank you for your continued support."
Gerry Guerra, regional manager for the Welfare and Self-reliance Department, explained how LDSC could come up with these initiatives.
He said, "Once a month, members of our Church go without food for 24 hours and contribute the supposed amount spent towards fast offering. Indeed, the Church wouldn't be able to participate in these initiatives without the sacrifice of those individuals who have faithfully given their fast offering to help individuals and organizations like this."
The turn-over ceremony was led by Dr. Paula Paz M. Sydiongco, DOH Regional Director, together with Elder Steven Leininger and Sister Marilyn Leininger, LDSC missionaries; Gerry Guerra of the Church's Welfare and Self-Reliance Services; Josue G. Jundos, President of the San Fernando La Union Stake; and John Paul Aquino, DOH NIP Coordinator.
Latter-day Saint Charities and Immunization
One of LDSC's primary initiatives is immunization; the humanitarian arm of the Church runs efforts with the aim of preserving the life and protecting the lives of all people, particularly children who are most vulnerable. LDSC does this by partnering with organizations around the world, including the Philippines's DOH, to provide monetary support to deliver and improve vaccine delivery systems, disease monitoring, healthcare worker training, and vaccine procurement, among other services.
Worldwide, Latter-day Saint Charities, is helping to support the global effort to distribute 2 Billion Covid-19 vaccines to at-risk populations.