Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III addressed the United Nations (UN) last week regarding tuberculosis (TB). It was earlier reported, the UN General Assembly was scheduled to hold their first high-level meeting on TB last Wednesday, September 26.

The cabinet official committed to accelerating action towards the elimination of tuberculosis, which the Bacolod City Health Office previously named as one of the leading causes of death in the city.

He called TB “as much a socio-economic issue, as it is a health issue,” noting, “Managing our TB burden will only be possible with reliable information to hold key stakeholders and providers, in particular, accountable.”

The World Health Organization Global Tuberculosis Report 2017, which served as a reference for the said meeting, called TB one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, with the Philippines named as one of several countries comprising 64 percent of new cases around the world.

The other countries include India, Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, and South Africa./WDJ