Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson signed a declaration to support measures to eradicate tuberculosis in the province on Thursday, October 12.
The declaration was signed during the “Yes! We Can End TB!” forum organized by the Philippine Alliance to Stop TB (PASTB) – Visayas Coalition and Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP)- Iloilo.
Benitez pledged to end TB within the community while working with various stakeholders.
“We stand in solidarity with the PASTB-Visayas Coalition in heeding the call to strengthen community engagement by empowering and involving public and private organizations in our local medical responses – bridging the gaps in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment,” he said.
The forum provided an avenue for the Bacolod and Negros Occidental local governments and community sectors to declare their united commitment to ending TB in the province.
The group also called on the Bacolod and Negros Occidental governments to invest in the continuum of TB care in order to close gaps in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
“We provide technical assistance to all LGUs for re-certification of TB DOTS Centers, intensify case-finding activities in LGUs through our mobile x-ray van, and contact-tracing activities for households and close contacts of active TB patients”, Lacson said.
The forum was supported by USAID’s Tuberculosis Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening (TBIHSS) Project implemented by FHI 360 and Action for Health Initiatives (ACHIEVE). *