By Alfonso T. Ruda
DIPOLOG CITY - The
Department of Health (DOH) finds an ally in its campaign against the 6th
leading cause of death in the country.
This
after a USAID-funded project dubbed “Innovation and Multi-Sectoral Partnerships
to Achieve Control of TB” (IMPACT) has partnered with the DOH to control the
disease.
The
corroborative effort came about after noting that despite the intensified
efforts of the government against TB, the disease still remains the top leading
cause of death in the country affecting a population in the productive age of
15-54 years old.
Ms.
Stepanie de la Cruz, an IMPACT Non-ARMM facilitator in Mindanao, came over
recently to hold a Multi-Sectoral Stakeholders Alliance-Facilitated Dialogue at
Camila Hotel here in collaboration with the Integrated Provincial Health Office
(IPHO).
In
her briefer, Ms, de la Cruz said MDR-TB cases would develop when a patient
failed to comply with the Direct Observation Treatment System (DOTS) or
under-dosage or he/she does not regularly take the prescribed medicine in an
specified number of months (6-8 months), or he/she is constant contact with an
MDR-RB Patient.
DOH
statistics disclosed that 75 Filipinos die of TB everyday and if left
unattended, this may affect hundreds of Filipinos in a year.
The
dialogue sought to improve case detection and achieve successful treatment of
all tuberculosis cases, including the multi-drug resistant TB and child TB
patients in the province of Zamboanga del Norte.
Third
district board member Ruth Brillantes, who represented Governor Roberto Uy
during the opening program, batted for a massive community participation in the
campaign.
Brillantes
urged the people who have a cough for more than two weeks to consult/visit the
nearest health center before it gets worse. She said one of the reasons why TB
remains a threat to human life is the failure of the patient to submit
himself/herself for checkup and/or the failure of the patient to comply with the
6-8 months treatment period.
“What
we need is behavior change to produce positive result in our campaign against
TB,” Brillantes said, as she urged individuals suspected of having TB “to come
out in the open and submit themselves for medical checkup or sputum examination
more especially that the anti-TB medicine is free.”
According
to Brilliantes, the provincial government of Zamboanga del Norte has prioritized
health in its budget for 2014. She also challenged the local chief executives
to take the initiative in this effort, as they are more knowledgeable on the
health condition of their constituents.
Attending
the said activity were representatives from the Bureau of Fire Protection
(BFP), Department of Education, Philhealth, business sector, academe, Philippine
Nurses Association (PNA), Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and the members
of Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s committee on health. (PIA9)