Background – TB is the 6th leading cause of illness and the 5th leading cause of deaths among the Filipinos (NSO
2008, 2005).
It is no surprise that in urban poor settlements the problem of tuberculosis is even worse than in the general urban population. For various reasons diagnosis and treatment in such places are often delayed or not sought at all.
Despite efforts made in the past, ignorance about tuberculosis, shame and financial issues among others still keep patients from getting appropriate care, even if diagnostic tools and treatment would be accessible. DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course) is among the most cost-effective programs for curing and preventing tuberculosis and has been officially adopted by the Philippine National TB Program in 1996. The Health Care Centers provide normally free sputum examination and TB drugs among other services but as outlined above, many patients are still not seeking appropriate care.
Bukang Liwayway (BL) Foundation has continuously expanded its community development projects (scholarship, training& discipleship, health program, livelihood projects) in several areas and encourages economic, emotional, social, cognitive, physical and spiritual development among the urban poor. BL has engaged in health care education in the communities for the past 9 years.
Crossing the path of many TB patients who got stuck somewhere on the way from diagnosis to treatment completion has triggered off our desire to engage in the fight against TB and with its history of a long-standing community based project, BL is an excellent source for grass root support in such an attempt.
What We Do
Imagine there is a cure for your deadly disease.
And you did not know…
Tuberculosis is one of the three primary poverty-related diseases. Therefore it is no surprise that the number of affected people in the slums of Manila is many times higher than in the rest of the population.
Lack of money is one of the main reasons why medical care is not sought, the disease is not properly diagnosed or treatment is stopped prematurely. (The failure to complete the 6 month long treatment comes with a significant risk of developing multi-drug resistence (MDR) which is then very difficult to treat).
Shame and ignorance are other reasons that keep the sick from getting the lifesaving treatment. The Government provides free sputum examination and free drugs for adults. But the poor are often not aware of this. Or the way to the local Health Center is too long and too exhausting.
Untreated they pass on their potentially deadly disease to their spouses, children, neigbours, colleagues.
Through our TB program we are reaching out to overcome the hurdles:
We teach capable individuals in the slums to become Community Health Volunteers (CHV). They learn how to identify possible Tb patients, how to collect the sputum needed for the diagnosis and how to monitor the daily intake of the drugs during the 6 months of treatment once the diagnosis is made. Supervision and support is given to them by a medical team of doctor and nurses.
In addition, one of the CHV’s has been trained to prepare the sputum for microscopy. This allows us to receive and process the sputums directly in the community, minimizing the transport path, a potential obstacle to persue diagnosis and treatment.
The medical team is visiting the community regularly to hold clinics and is available for house visits when necessary. Furthermore we place high value in health teaching and knowledge transfer. The patient, his family and the whole community should be well informed about the cause of the disease, the treatment and preventative measurements.
In order to bridge the financial gaps, we sponsor the drugs for the children (not provided by the government), cover the costs for a chest-X-ray for those who need one to confirm the diagnosis (children and sputum negative adults) and offer tuberculosis skin testing at no charge for all children at risk or those who have symptoms.
Our MDR cases are often in need of financial support of the transport costs for their daily visit at a specialised center. It is our utmost concern that those patients take their daily medication for the prolonged therapy (12-18 months) in order to get cured and not become a threat to their environment.
The Tb project was initiated in 2011 by Regina Jansen, RN from Holland, and Daniel and Cornelia, MD’s from Switzerland. As intercultural workers of OMF International they are working with Bukang Liwayway in Manila and beyond.
Donate to TB Program
If you would like to give a donation to the TB program, please send your donation by mail as follows: (Please make cheques payable to OMF International & earmark project number: P65151 – BL Community-based TB Program)
If you are from Canada:
Please send your cheque or money order to:
OMF Canada,
10 Huntingdale Blvd.,
Scarborough, On. M1W2S5
If you are from the United States:
Please send your cheque or money order to:
OMF International US
10 W Dry Creek Circle,
Littleton, CO
80120-4413
USA
If you are in a country other than Canada or the USA:
Find out your own country’s OMF Office by visiting www.omf.org to obtain an OMF address in your country.
