TARLAC CITY — United States Agency for International Development (USAID) enjoins partners and stakeholders to prevent tuberculosis (TB) transmission and progression.
USAID Philippines Office of Health Director Michelle Lang-Alli said the 100-day accelerated plan for TB preventive treatment implementation in Central Luzon aims to reach out to more people with latent TB to protect them from developing active TB disease.
“TB preventive therapy is one of the vital pillars in achieving TB elimination and therefore it should be rapidly scaled up,” she highlighted.
Lang-Alli acknowledged the participation of local government units (LGUs) in achieving this vision.
“We are grateful that you have come together to join Department of Health (DOH) and USAID in addressing the gaps in TB preventive treatment through your commitment to support the implementation of this strategy” she told attendees during Tuesday’s launch.
The official assured that USAID, through its TB platforms project, and DOH will intensify efforts to find and treat all people with TB as well as prevent new cases of TB.
It will also continue working with the national government, LGUs, private sector and community partners to ensure continuous provision of TB diagnosis, care, treatment and prevention in communities amid COVID-19 pandemic.
“Through our continuous quality improvement, we hope to help improve the uptake and adherence as well as strengthen technical skills and competencies of healthcare providers and expand service delivery options to bring TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) closer to communities,” Lang-Alli noted.
“We need to raise awareness that TB is a killer disease but curable and preventable,” she furthered.
Above all, she urged the cooperation and participation of everyone in the communities to carry through the program’s objectives.
“We encourage all partners and stakeholders to join a stronger and coordinated action to prevent TB transmission and disease progression for our share goal of a TB free community,” she said.
TPT implementation targets over 6,700 eligible individuals in all LGUs in Central Luzon.