PROVINCIAL Health Consultant Elisse Nicole Catalan announced on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, a new collaboration with a World Health Organization delegation to expand community-based tuberculosis (TB) testing.
The initiative aims to strengthen diagnostic capacity and integrate screenings into primary care to address the high burden of TB in the region. Catalan said early detection is crucial for identifying drug-resistant cases and preventing further transmission.
The WHO delegation, led by Dr. Clarissa Dayrit-Halum, is supporting efforts to improve TB detection and expand access to diagnostic services across the province.
Catalan noted that TB remains one of the Philippines’ most urgent public health challenges. The country is still listed among the world’s high-burden TB nations, with an estimated 625 cases per 100,000 population and about 98 deaths daily nationwide.
“Improving access to testing is critical; early diagnosis leads to higher cure rates, prevents silent transmission within families and communities, reduces severe illness and TB-related deaths, enables detection of drug-resistant TB, and protects vulnerable populations and healthcare workers,” Catalan said in a Facebook post.
To expand access to testing and speed up treatment, Cebu Province is increasing diagnostic and laboratory capacity across provincial health facilities, integrating TB screening into primary care units and hospitals, targeting high-risk populations, and strengthening referral systems for faster treatment initiation.
Catalan emphasized that TB is preventable and curable when detected early, stressing that early diagnosis is key to stopping transmission, reducing severe illness and deaths, and identifying drug-resistant cases to protect communities. / CDF