AS PART of the Philippine government’s efforts to reduce cases of TB, the Department of Health (DOH) officially launched the Mindanao-wide implementation of the Philippine Strategic Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Plan Phase 2: 2025-2030 (PhilSTEP2) on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at the Apo View Hotel.
Building upon the successes and insights of PhilSTEP1 (2020–2023), PhilSTEP2 provides a strategic framework to guide the planning, execution, and evaluation of tuberculosis-related initiatives across every tier of the health system and among all relevant stakeholders.
Aligned with the Health Sector’s 8-point Action Agenda and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) End TB Strategy, PhilSTEP2 will improve case detection through community-and facility-based chest X-ray screening and ensure TB cases are diagnosed and treated; provide TB preventive treatment of eligible contacts, reduce catastrophic costs for TB-affected households to zero; and strengthen emergency preparedness and health promotion.
The plan aims to lower TB mortality rate from 18 to 5 per 100,000 and cut incidence from 643 to 300 per 100,000 by 2030. To reach these targets, DOH will implement measures such as both community and facility-based screening, healthcare workers testing, adoption of patient-centered treatment approaches, enhanced clinical monitoring, robust referral systems, and intensified contact tracing, among others.
According to DOH with the implementation of the plan they aim to screen a total of 79.5 million using CXR (Chest X-ray) in 6 years. It aims to screen 10.8 million in 2025, 12.7 million in 2026, 13.4 million in 2027, 13.1 million in 2028, around 14 million in 2029, and 15.2 million in 2030.
DOH Usec. Abdullah B. Dumama Jr., cluster lead of the National UHC Health Services Cluster (UHC-HSC) and concurrent head of Area IV (Mindanao), during his opening address, stressed that tuberculosis (TB) remains a critical public heath issue in the Philippines, which still ranks among the countries with the highest TB burden worldwide.
In 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported 20,472 confirmed deaths due to tuberculosis (TB).
In Davao Region, DOH data states that TB cases rose from 17,522 in 2023 to 22,105 in 2024.
Acknowledging TB’s devastating impact, Dumama said the PhilSTEP 2 is the key to a bolder, more integrated, and person-centered response.
He also outlined PhilSTEP 2 strategic pillars: Effective and responsive service delivery; resilience to emergencies and disasters; advocacy for early health-seeking and positive health behaviors; and creation of enabling health systems to support TB elimination.
Dumama also underscored the vital role every stakeholder plays. PIA DAVAO