Elamae Membrere
BOKOD is eyeing the institutionalization of the Tuberculosis Control Program to further stabilize and fully eliminate TB in adults and children in the municipality.
The realization was embodied in Municipal Ordinance No. 06 Series 2016 known as the “Strengthening and Institutionalizing the TB Control Program in Bokod” authored by Councilor Marian Calawen.
The resolution cited in 2010, TB was the sixth leading cause of mortality rate of 26.3 deaths for every 100,000 people and accounts for 5.1 percent of total deaths ranking the nation ninth among the 22 high TB burdened countries.
With this, the council has moved for the approval of the ordinance to show support to the national government in instituting an effective program for TB Control through the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course Chemotherapy (DOTS) strategy of National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP).
Initially, the municipality has appropriated an annual funding amounting to P100,000 for the first year of its program implementation and may be increased in the succeeding years to guarantee the sustainability and improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness in delivering the health service among their constituents.
The Municipal Health Office annual budget allocated for program which covers training for the staff with the local government unit extending their support by strengthening and capacitating the local community health volunteers on TB DOTS program.
Also, the funding is allocated for the NTP legal drugs supply, laboratory testing and documentation for a regular and continual monitoring, supervision, and evaluation for an effective and sustainable service.
Bokod will also advocate for the continuous investment of quality improvement certification and accreditation of health facilities and health centers in addition to the establishment of network links to inter-agencies and partnership with different key stakeholders and sectors involved in the program such as government agencies, non-government organizations, civil society, private sectors and international agencies for a more comprehensive NTP implementation.
The ordinance is also in accordance with the Department of Health National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC) Philippine Action Plan localizing its implementation in order to attain a TB-Free Community.
TB is a disease caused by bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis that usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body acquired by inhalation of infectious droplets containing tubercle bacilli through coughing, sneezing, talking, and singing.
In addition, DOTS is a method developed to ensure treatment compliance by providing constant and motivational supervision to TB patients. Such strategy includes the direct sputum smear examination as diagnostic tool in case finding, standardized chemotherapy and program forms implemented in health centers, direct observation to patient’s compliance and political commitment to ensure sustained and comprehensive implementation of activities.