Southeast Asian nations have launched the Airborne Infection Disease Platform (AIDP) to strengthen their response, healthcare systems, and preparedness against tuberculosis (TB).

The initiative was inaugurated on Thursday at a side event of the 16th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, where government leaders from Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states had gathered.

In his message, Philippine Health Secretary Ted Herbosa vowed to champion the cause of AIDP not only in the Philippines, but Southeast Asia.

“Our President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and our Department of Foreign Affairs have given their approval for me to chair the Stop TB Partnership, which places an immense responsibility on me personally and on the Philippines,” Herbosa said.

“The Philippines is still among the top eight countries with a high TB burden, but we are also making significant strides in TB control,” he added.

Herbosa said that one thing the country learned during the Covid-19 pandemic was that “a strong system against TB can be a significant asset in dealing with other airborne diseases.”

He noted that the Philippines began introducing the molecular rapid diagnostic test for TB as far back as 2012 and gradually expanded its laboratory network to make it the primary diagnostic tool by 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

“Investing in tackling one airborne infection such as TB is an investment in tackling all airborne infections,” he said.

Over 2.4-million people across Southeast Asia are estimated to be affected with TB based on the Global TB Report 2023.

Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are on the World Health Organization (WHO) high burden TB list.

The Covid-19 pandemic had devastated national TB prevention and treatment programs as personnel and resources were redirected from TB to Covid-19, leading to an estimated increase of almost half a million additional deaths from TB from 2020 to 2022.

TB prevalence in Phl

The Philippines was one of the severely affected countries during the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of disrupted TB services, another Department of Health official pointed out.

During the pandemic, Dr. Anna Maria Celina, director IV of the DoH Diseases Prevention and Control Bureau, said the country saw a 37-percent decrease in TB case notifications.

In 2022, however, the Philippines saw the highest case notifications after the Directly Observed Therapy was implemented.

“An integrated approach is necessary, including multi-stakeholder collaboration, involving the private sector, and investing in people who are key to providing essential services,” Celina said.