TB cases in PH
IT is certainly “alarming” that the dreaded tuberculosis (TB) is killing 160 people a day in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
In fact, the 2023 Global TB Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) listed the Philippines as one of the “high-burden” countries for TB.
That’s why we commend the Department of Health (DOH) and the United States for working in unison to eradicate the dreaded disease in the country.
Reports said the DOH and the US Agency for International Development are pouring in P1.15 billion into efforts to screen Filipinos for TB,
The DOH and USAID pledged P605 million and P550 million, respectively, for the implementation of an innovative program for early TB screening.
Under the innovative program, the DOH and USAID hope to screen an estimated one million Filipinos for tuberculosis and enhance case finding for it.
The program envisions to integrate TB screening with testing for other lung diseases as well other contagious and non-communicable illnesses.
The United Nations (UN) hopes to identify and treat 2.1 million people, including Filipinos, living with TB for the next three years (2025-2027).
In the Philippines, there is a need to identify TB patients in far-flung communities.
Particularly those living in depressed areas, where there are no hospitals and medical doctors.
