PH gets P1.15-B fund to fight tuberculosis
THE Philippines will have an additional fund of P1.15 billion ($21 million) in its fight against tuberculosis (TB).
This was announced by the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) and the Department of Health (DoH) on Thursday.
Paloma Adams-Allen, USAid deputy administrator for management and resources, and Lilibeth David, DoH current chief of staff undersecretary, jointly led the ceremonial signing of the partnership at the TB Active Case Finding Summit in Manila on March 21.
The US Embassy in Manila said the additional funding consists of P550 million ($10 million) from USAid and private sector partners for the Support Wide-scale Interventions to Find TB (SWIF-TB) initiative, and a matching commitment by DoH worth P605 million ($11 million).
The embassy said SWIF-TB aims to help achieve the target set by the United Nations to find and treat 2.1 million TB cases in the Philippines by 2027.
It added that as the world’s largest bilateral TB donor, USAid has invested more than P260 billion ($4.7 billion) to combat TB since 2000, saving more than 75 million lives globally since 2000.
The embassy also noted that USAid and its partners through SWIF-TB will help expand ongoing efforts of local nongovernment organizations and private sector partners in fighting TB.
“These efforts include providing payment vouchers for early TB screening; utilizing advanced technologies in TB testing; enhancing the ability of health advocates to find cases and support survivors; increasing the use of TB preventive treatment; and integrating TB screening with the testing of other lung diseases, HIV, and diabetes, and will help screen at least a million Filipinos for TB and ensure proper treatment of those afflicted with the disease, the embassy added,” it said.
Adams-Allen said this is not just a funding opportunity but a call to action. “Combating tuberculosis demands a unified effort from the entire society, including civil society, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations. We are proud to partner with the Philippines to combat TB.”
On the other hand, David said the DoH stands firm in its dedication and “to this end, we are pledging the government’s matching amount of around $11 million to strengthen primary health care services, enhance capacities, and fortify infrastructure.”
She said their goal is to accelerate universal access to TB care.
According to the US Embassy, the Philippines and Ethiopia were the only two countries worldwide selected to receive SWIF-TB funding.
Adams-Allen said the Philippine government and USAid will amplify existing efforts, implement innovative case-finding strategies, expand preventative therapies, and ensure that everyone, especially the most vulnerable, has access to the care and treatment they need.
“We will ensure that community health workers are paid a fair wage, another innovation under this critical project,” she said.
Based on the data by the World Health Organization, the Philippines has one of the highest cases of TB in the world. It said the country has recorded more than 737,000 new tuberculosis cases in 2022 and an estimated 106 Filipinos die of the infectious disease every day.