LEIPZIG, Germany: The Department of Education of the Philippines is planning to expand its hygiene programme in a bid to improve public school health care. According to Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, the new Essential Health Care Package (EHCP) is expected to be endorsed by public elementary schools across the country in the next school year.

The EHCP will include hand soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deworming tablets, he told reporters at a press conference. “Our goal is to reduce dental caries up to 50 per cent and cut down on parasitic infection by another 50 per cent,” Lapus stated. “We want our students to be in their best physical form to perform better in school.”

The EHCP programme follows a public report based on a Nationwide Oral Health Survey conducted between November 2005 and February 2006 in the country’s 17 regions. The Survey found that, of the 4,000 pupils surveyed, 97 per cent of six-year-olds and 82 per cent of 12-year-olds suffered from tooth decay.

One of the survey findings, however, offered hope, as it showed that schools are the best place at which to institutionalise healthy habits, Lapus said. Several pilot studies conducted in the country have shown that implementing school-based daily fluoride tooth brushing could reduce new dental caries by 40 per cent and oral infections by 60 per cent.

The survey was supported by the Center for International Migration and Development, World Health Organization Collaborative Center. The findings were submitted to several universities with dental curricula, to help them identify oral hygiene research areas and activities.