Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic communicable disease that comes second only to COVID-19 as a leading cause of mortality from a single infectious organism. According to the Global TB Report 2022, the disease accounted for 1.6 million deaths in 2021. In a preliminary report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) this year, TB continues to rank 11th among the causes of death in the Filipino population.
I can totally relate to this situation. When my kids were still very young, we had a family driver who had active TB and we did not know about it until I had him tested because he was constantly having a dry cough. Since our kids were exposed to him daily as he took them to and from school, they all had to take anti-TB medicines for at least 6 months. That was a scary period in my parenting experience and it made me realize that there are many Filipinos walking around without even knowing that they have TB.
One problem I heard often, which supposedly aggravates the TB situation in the Philippines, is that due to financial situations, many who are diagnosed start their TB medication but do not finish it. When this happens, stronger versions of the TB virus that survive mutate and often become resistant to the medicines precisely made for their eradication. This is sad because TB is preventable and treatable, especially when caught early, and people do not have to die because of it.
Thankfully, steps are being taken to address this problem.
The Department of Health (DOH) has launched the Philippine Acceleration Action Plan for Tuberculosis (PAAP-TB), a multisectoral initiative to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) in the country by 2035. The DOH together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), through the PAAP-TB aims to provide wider access to health services, and improved education and public information, social protection, and labor protection to eradicate TB by 2030.
TB elimination entails improving access to TB services, and addressing the social, economic, and physical determinants that significantly affect its occurrence, transmission, and even treatment.
The PAAP-TB aims to address the nation’s TB epidemic by re-examining current programs and initiatives of National Coordinating Committee for Tuberculosis (TB-NCC) member organizations. Together, these collaborating sectors will provide an action plan and involve the private sector and organizations to achieve the program’s goals over two medium terms.
The PAAP-TB document has been developed with technical support from the USAID’s TB Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening Project implemented by FHI 360.
Present at the launch of PAAP-TB were representatives from various sectors committed to eradicating TB in the Philippines: Department of Health Assistant Secretary Beverly Ho, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., DSWD Assistant Secretary Janet Armas, DOLE Executive Director for the Occupational Safety and Health Center Ma. Teresita Cucueco, and FDA Director IV Jesusa Joyce Cirunay.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Secretary, Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire, said that by engaging multiple disciplines, organizations, sectors, and partners can combine strengths and leverage resources, expertise, and knowledge, while addressing the social, environmental, economic, and political systemic drivers that influence behaviors and prevent the effective delivery of health policies and interventions.
TB has been around for many decades and many administrations. Having the PAAP-TB document is just the beginning. I hope that PAAP-TB’s multisectoral composition will finally be THE program that will step on the brakes of the spread of TB in the country.