CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — About 73 provincial health officers, hospital chiefs and advocacy partners in Central Luzon attended the Training of Trainers on the Revised National Tuberculosis Program’s Manual of Procedures (NTP MOP).
It was organized by the TB Platforms Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Business for Social Progress Access TB and TB Innovations.
“The webinar aims to introduce and cascade the policy changes and revisions on the NTP MOP, 6th edition. This capacity building activity aims to adopt a blended distance learning and modular approach as teaching strategy to allow a more engaging learning experience and combine the strengths of traditional and online learning methods,” USAID’s TB Platforms Chief of Party Marianne Calnan said.
The Philippines, considered one of the high TB burden country, has joined the race to end it globally even before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In fact, it committed during the United Nations High Level Meeting to find and treat 2.5 million Filipinos with TB from 2017-2022.
USAID’s TB Platforms is collaborating with DOH in Central Luzon in the implementation of TB services since 2018.
“The 6th edition NTP MOP consolidates all new policies and procedures on TB case finding and case holding and also introduces a shift in program approach towards a more responsive and patient-centered care,” DOH Regional Director Cesar Cassion said.
“This revised MOP with its bold and radical shift in policies and procedures is a statement that the country is willing to make these drastic changes to contribute towards ending TB,” he furthered.
USAID’s TB Platforms provide remote mentoring to all its partners as part of its technical assistance to DOH NTP for the continuous provision of TB treatment amid the current pandemic.
Recently, it rolled out its regional media outreach to promote how the project works with local government units, health facilities and TB champions in strengthening esponse and encouraging public-private partnerships for both TB and COVID-19.