By Jelly F. Musico
MANILA, March 25 (PNA) — Inspired by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) award to the Philippines’ campaign against deadly tuberculosis, Malacanang on Wednesday said the government will continue to provide quality health service to the Filipino people.
”We shall continue to provide quality health service to our citizens, especially the poor, consistent with the government’s Universal Health Care for Filipinos program,” said Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in a statement.
Last Tuesday, the Philippines was awarded the title “TB Champion” by the USAID based in Washington, D.C.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. received the award in behalf of the country.
”We note the ‘TB Champion’ title awarded to the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) by the USAID in Washington, D.C. as part of the World TB (tuberculosis) Day observance.
Coloma said the award recognizes the DOH’s “exemplary and leadership commitment in the fight against TB” in the country.
According to Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin, the DOH has been implementing programs and strategies that effectively treated drug resistant TB, and allowed for greater coverage of TB patients nationwide.
”As early as 2012, the country achieved its 2015 Millennium Development Goal in fighting TB, making us one of seven among 22 high-burdened countries to do so,” Coloma said.
Every year, the USAID has been giving recognition to individual, organizations or institutions which became instrumental to the achievement of global TB targets.
The citation reads: “The USAID recognizes the Department of Health as a champion in the global fight against TB for its exemplary commitment and leadership in the fight against TB in the Philippines.” This resulted in an impressive nationwide scale-up of treatment for drug resistant TB, as well as greater coverage and quality treatment for adults and children suffering from this disease. USAID is a significant partner in the country’s battle against the ancient disease.
The U.S. Government is a leader in the global fight against TB and the largest bilateral donor in this effort, supporting programs in 26 countries with the highest TB burdens through the USAID.
Garin disclosed that there has been a marked decline in TB burden in the country since the launching of the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course) strategy in 1996.
She added that as of 2013, cases and deaths due to TB was reduced by more than 50 percent from the 1990 baseline.
Garin explained that in 2011, rapid diagnostic tools such as Line Probe Assay, Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube and GeneXpert were introduced to improve and lessen turnaround time of Multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB diagnosis.
There is also a continuous expansion of services for drug resistant TB cases to at least one treatment center/satellite treatment center per province and highly urbanized city, according to the DOH secretary.
The success of the national TB program can be attributed to past efforts like the implementation of the DOTS Strategy or “Tutok-Gamutan”, management of the multi-drug resistant TB, initiation of public-private mix DOTS, implementation of TB in children program, and the enhancements of DOTS through the adoption of the WHO-endorsed STOP TB strategy and expansion of services to the vulnerable groups like the inmates and people living with HIV.
Tuberculosis ranked as the 8th leading cause of sickness in the country (based on 2010 data) and the 6th leading cause of death (based on the 2009 Philippine Health Statistics) Currently, the Philippines is 8th among the 22 TB high-burdened countries in the world in terms of TB cases. (PNA)