PH joins intl alliance in fight vs tuberculosis

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday, February 8, said the Philippines, with Indonesia, Nigeria and Poland, launched the Alliance of Countries in the Fight Against Tuberculosis (“Alliance”) on February 2 at the Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the United Nations in New York City.

Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, the permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, thanked Indonesia for leading the initiative and underscored the achievements of the Philippines in the fight against tuberculosis (TB).

“As a strong champion in the fight against TB, the Philippines has always welcomed every avenue and every initiative to end, by 2030, this top infectious killer. This commitment is a national priority as directed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who underscored the urgency of the problem and emphasized the collective role and contribution of each stakeholder, partner, organization and individual in the fight,” Lagdameo said.

He said that from 2017 to 2022, the Philippines had been able to find and treat 2.1 million people with TB, recovering and exceeding pre-pandemic performance in case notifications.

The improvement in case notifications is a product of the implementation of the TB Adaptive Plan, which provided guidelines to ensure that TB services were uninterrupted during the pandemic.

Ambassador Lagdameo also identified the potential contributions of the Philippines to the Alliance and to TB elimination.

“Through this Alliance, we stand in solidarity with all of you in fostering collaboration among members, other states, and partners to strengthen implementation commitments essential for TB control. This includes promoting initiatives supporting countries’ access to new technologies and drugs like the TB vaccine, while also sharing its innovations in TB management,” Lagdameo said.

He also said the Philippines seeks to pool resources, knowledge and expertise to combat TB effectively, noting that central to this endeavor is the emphasis on translating commitments into tangible actions, such as improving health care infrastructure and enhancing diagnostic capabilities.

The Alliance of Countries on the Fight Against Tuberculosis was created in September 2023 to initiate activities that are highly relevant to build awareness, maintain focus and encourage concrete measures on the issue of tuberculosis. It was initiated under the leadership of Indonesia, with the Philippines, Nigeria and Poland as co-chairs. To date, it has 21 members, including high TB countries like China, Mongolia, Peru, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.