Some 1,568 tuberculosis patients (TB) from the 1st and 2nd districts received cash and food assistance from the Provincial Government of Pampanga in ceremonies held on Wednesday, May 10, at the Bren Z Guiao Convention Center.
Vice Governor Lilia ‘Nanay’ Pineda led the distribution of assistance on behalf of Governor Dennis’ Delta’ Pineda and personally checked on the condition of the patients undergoing medication.
Nanay thanked the Department of Health (DOH) for extending efforts to provide the medication needs of more than 3,000 recorded patients in the province’s Rural Health Units (RHUs).
According to VG Nanay, more than political support, patients must also elevate efforts to cure themselves to lessen the risks of TB within communities.
“𝐼𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑢 𝑚𝑢 𝑝𝑢 𝑘𝑒𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑢, 𝑒𝑦𝑢 𝑙𝑎 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑡𝑎𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑙𝑢 𝑦𝑢. 𝐴𝑑𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑎𝑟𝑖 𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑢 𝑙𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑢. 𝐾𝑎𝑠𝑖 𝑘𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑖𝑔-𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑝 𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑢 𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑙𝑑𝑜, 𝑒𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑢 𝑚𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑑𝑎𝑛. 𝐿𝑎𝑙𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑢 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑦𝑎 𝑝𝑎 𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑔𝑎,” said Vice Governor Nanay.
To boost advocacy efforts to fight TB, patients also underwent educational talks on preventing and curing the disease.
The DOH reported 311,000 tuberculosis cases in the country in 2021 based on the National TB Registry.
Experts advise patients to seek early treatment if symptoms already persist.
“Isa talaga ang Pilipinas sa may pinakamaraming incidence ng tuberculosis. Sa sampung pasyenteng pumunta sa mga ospital, nasa 6 hanggang pito out of 10 ang positibo sa Tuberculosis. One reason is siguro sa kaalaman ng mga tao, hindi nila alam na mayroon na pala silang tuberculosis. Madalas kasi wala silang symptoms, malalaman na lang nila minsan kapag may x-ray findings na sila. Tanggalin dapat natin ang stigma sa TB, dapat kung may nararamdaman na sila ay magpakonsulta na doctor,” said, Dr Kristine Juico-Dungo, a pulmonologist.
Each beneficiary received cash assistance worth P3,500, medicines, and food packs from the provincial government.
“Simula ng magka TB ako, 6 months ago, natigil na ako sa pagtatrabaho. Kaya napakalaking tulong itong binigay nila sa amin para kahit papaano ay may maiuwi at makabawi man lang ako sa pamilya ko,” said Wilson Enjape, a TB patient.
1,641 TB patients from the 3rd and 4th districts received the same assistance the other day.
The World Health Organization (DOH) defines TB as an illness brought on by a bacterium that damages the lungs. It is the 13th leading cause of death and the second leading infectious killer after Covid-19 worldwide.
