Gov’t agencies activate POPCOM’s demographic vulnerabilities tool Multilateral approach to neutralize COVID-19 at household level

         Deemed instrumental in combating the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) announces the availability of its demographic vulnerabilities tool (DVT) which, with collaboration of various government agencies, will ensure its rollout to all regions and local government units (LGUs), particularly the barangays.

              A joint memorandum circular (JMC), signed by the respective secretaries of the Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as well as POPCOM’s executive director and issued on April 30, stipulates the initial release of the DVT to all LGUs in Metro Manila and the rest of the country. POPCOM regional offices will provide key demographic indicators that are factors of risks to COVID-19 to their respective LGUs in the Visayas and Mindanao, which can also be accessed via popcom.gov.ph.

                Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III, MD, MPH said that based on the JMC, the DVT will be used by LGUs as the baseline to plan, implement and assess pandemic response in their respective communities: “The tool can be used to accelerate or decelerate physical distancing measures in areas with high number of confirmed, suspect or probable cases, as well as high-density areas, including households with high numbers of vulnerable members such as senior citizens living in houses measuring less than 20 square meters.”

           Nationwide, the DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director, POPCOM Deputy Executive Director, the DILG’s Bureau of Local Government Development Director and NEDA Regional Coordination Staff Director, with the assistance of the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, will ensure the rollout of the DVT to all regions and LGUs.

            Meanwhile, Demographic Vulnerability Teams in all 17 regions, including the DOH’s Regional Epidemiological Surveillance Units or RESUs, as well as DILG and NEDA regional offices, will provide continuing technical and operational support to LGUs for proper use and implementation of the DVT.

LGUs’ DVT use: The DVT, Perez noted, can also be utilized to identify priority groups and areas for relief and support operations in households: “The tool can pinpoint residences with senior citizens, seniors living alone who may need more urgent target-specific assistance from their officials,” he emphasized. “Likewise, the DVT can be useful in determining households with more vulnerable populations with specialized support.”               

              The POPCOM chief pointed out that the DVT can also help determine and estimate types and volume or quantity of support services for specific priority areas based on the household members’ degree of vulnerability. “It can also be instrumental in determining better locations of quarantine sites, such as those in areas with low population density,” he stated.

             For instance, initial analysis of cases in Quezon City showed that as of April 28, 90% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 live in barangays deemed vulnerable by the DVT.

              To generate further information on concerned households, POPCOM’s executive director explained that the data in the DVT can either be validated and verified, or merged with existing records of the barangays, such as their Community-Based Monitoring System or CBMS, or the Registry of Barangay Inhabitants and Migrants or RBIM: “For instance, to provide more specific services for elderlies residing in small housing units, their numbers can be determined through the CBMS or RBIM.”

Mobilization and activation: In terms of mobilization of local structures, Perez expounded that local chief executives (LCEs) may activate their local contact tracing teams (LCTTs), including health and as well as population offices, to assist and supervise their mandated conduct as well as other epidemiologic and population-related tasks.

           With the LCEs’ certification and DOH validation, the undersecretary shared that under the JMC, population officers and workers as well as other mobilized non-health LGU personnel and volunteers will also be considered as public health workers: “The LCEs need to ensure their proper support for the LCTT’s safety and health at all times while they are in the field.”

            Perez considers the JMC and its provisions as another game-changer from the government in its continuing fight against COVID-19. “For an enemy that we can’t see, we need to employ an intangible yet equally important means to defeat the virus, which is accurate information about our people, especially those most vulnerable. Cure can come by outsmarting the virus, one household at a time.”