Marcos to DOH: Refocus drive on general public health, make HIV, TB fight a priority

HIV_AIDS. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to now make the campaign against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) infections its priority aside from the battle against COVID-19.

According to Marcos, the government should now start concentrating on general public health matters alongside the pandemic.

“Let’s start refocusing again on the general public health concerns. Siyempre COVID has not come away. [We] still have to deal with it,” he told DOH officials in a meeting in Malacañang, as quoted in a statement released by the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS).

“But let’s not deal with COVID-19 at the expense of all these other public health concerns,” he added.

READ: Rise in HIV cases increases the likelihood of TB spread – experts

The OPS said that during the meeting, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reported to the President that TB has reemerged because of its high transmissibility. Vergeire said that DOH found that low-income individuals frequently have higher rates of tuberculosis.

She emphasizes that while anti-TB medications are still available over the counter, the problem of drug-resistant TB persists.

“So, for example, they have prescriptions that will be given by doctors [to those] who just need them… medicines for just one, two months, they will not finish their medicines, and they become resistant,” Vergeire explained.

She expressed disappointment that some government-funded patients were using the program by giving away their medication to those who had not first seen a doctor.

Vergeire recognized that the DOH must bolster its tracking and observation to ensure TB patients receive the proper care and attention, even when they relocate within the country.

To address present challenges, she said, the DOH has partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after it donated a tool using artificial intelligence.

“We’re trying to go around the different provinces to do this. Hopefully, we get to reduce the number of cases,” she added.

As for HIV, Vergeire said the DOH gained headway against the disease before the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was interrupted during the pandemic because of government-imposed restrictions.

READ: COVID-19 has ‘devastating’ impact on fight against HIV, TB, malaria – Global Fund

She said COVID-19 curbs prevented people from undergoing HIV screenings, resulting in increased cases.

“People were not able to go for screening, were not able to get their medicines because of the lockdowns, so what we did during the time of the pandemic, we were already sending per individual or per patient ‘yung kanilang mga gamot through LBC para lang makainom sila ng gamot,” Vergeire said.

The DOH officer-in-charge likewise disclosed that they are working with lawmakers and the judiciary to fight the stigma and discrimination preventing people from seeking medical attention even if they are already experiencing HIV symptoms.

“So we’re working with the other sectors so that we can be able to make the services more accessible,” Vergeire said.

KGA/abc