CAPIZ – This province is on the priority list in the anti-tuberculosis campaign. The Department of Health (DOH) will soon implement the Actions to Support Widespread Intervention to Fight Tuberculosis (SWIF-TB) here.
Gov. Fredenil Castro, who fully supported the campaign, said that on Monday, January 6, representatives from the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, Inc. visited the provincial capitol and presented to him and the Provincial Health Office the said program.
“Particular nga i-highlight sa activities amo ang pag-explain sa Capiznons kon ano ang tuberculosis, paano ma-infect ang tawo, paano ma-prevent, kag sa diin sila puede makakadto para ma-screen sa masakit,” the governor said.
Gov. Castro expressed his gratitude to the DOH and USAID for choosing Capiz as one of the recipients of the program.
“Daku ini nga oportunidad agud masolusyunan ang mataas nga kaso sang tuberculosis sa probinsya,” he said.
SWIF-TB, an initiative of the DOH, has a funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to combat the persistent threat of TB.
Through SWIF-TB, USAID and its partners will help expand ongoing efforts of local governments and private sector partners in fighting TB, such as 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.
These efforts will help screen at least a million Filipinos for TB and ensure proper treatment of those afflicted with the disease.
Moreover, 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.
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./PN
