The year 2011 saw the emergence of various national issues concerning health and safety of Filipinos here in the country and abroad. In his 2011 year-end message, Sec. Mario G. Montejo of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) revealed how the Department successfully addressed different public concerns, such as climate change, disaster relief mitigation, and outbreaks of diseases, among other things, that affected the Philippines in the past year.

The Secretary proudly cited the agency’s Mosquito Ovicidal-Larvicidal (OL) Trap, a project supported by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), and the Department’s unrelenting campaign to bring as many kits of this mosquito trap to families that are at direct risk of dengue, as one of the successful projects for the year 2011.

“This proactive approach in disaster risk reduction and management, which President Aquino cited on numerous occasions, characterized DOST’s most important achievement under the Aquino administration,” Sec. Montejo said.

High Impact Technology Solutions (HITS) were also hailed as among the agency’s breakthroughs and achievements in 2011. The program helped launched technologies such as the Automatic Weather Stations and Automatic Rain Gauges (to provide better weather updates during typhoons), water nanofiltration containers (for the prevention of water borne diseases), and complementary foods (to help fight malnutrition).

Aside from providing tangible technology to the people, the Department also helped with the dissemination of accurate information regarding the incident in Fukushima nuclear power plant last year. The agency ensured that factual updates about the developments in Fukushima were made in order to inform the Filipinos and prevent any false alarms that will result to confusion.

The Secretary enlightened everyone that science and technology is here, not just to improve the way we live and do things, but also to help us survive in desperate times.

“Scientific understanding and technological adeptness should always serve human needs not only to enhance the quality of life but also to save lives,” the Secretary explained.