The Department of Health (DOH) today urged all private and public health workers, especially at the municipal, provincial and barangay levels, to report all public health threats and emergencies to the DOH to continuously promote the welfare of the people as mandated under newly signed law, RA 11332 otherwise known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act”.

The new law aims to protect people from public health threats through the efficient and effective disease surveillance of diseases of public health concern.   The new law recognizes the disease surveillance and response systems of the DOH and its local counterparts as the first line of defense against epidemics or any events that may pose a health threats to the public.

According to Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, “With the new law, we will be able to ensure timely and accurate health information on notifiable diseases and other public health-related events to citizens and health providers.”

“This law will greatly help inform preventive measures and epidemics response in the country,” Duque explained.