The City Health Department gathered more than 200 Barangay Health Workers and representatives from different sectors in the city to commemorate the “World TB Day 2012” through a symposium with the theme “Valenzuelano, sama-sama sa pakikibaka kontra tuberkulosis!”(“People of Valenzuela hand-in-hand in fight against tuberculosis”) to uphold the programs and achievements in continuous campaign against the infectious disease.

Held last March 26 at Valenzuela City Convention Center, the event was coordinated with Linking Initiatives and Networking to Control Tuberculosis (TBLINC), a non-profit organization under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which started operating in the year 2006 in aim of helping the country in providing technical assistance in prevention and cure of tuberculosis.

March 24 was declared the official tuberculosis prevention day in commemoration for Microbiologist Robert’s Koch’s isolation of Tuberculosis Bacillus in the year 1882.  The National Celebration was conducted last March 26 in the National New Bilibid Prison.

The incessant battle against the disease in the country was further toughened when the Philippines ranked number 9 out of the 22 high-burdened countries under World Health Organization( WHO) watchlist all over the world and placed 3^rd in the Western Pacific Region that are contaminated with tuberculosis in 2009.

According to WHO, the number of deaths due to TB stands at an average of 75 Filipinos every day. Diagnosed as curable, it ranks 6^th among the top leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the Philippines, including Valenzuela City, the City Health Department data shows..

City Mayor WIN Gatchalian, through the City Health Department, provides free medical and facility assistance to Valenzuelanos who are suspected and diagnosed with TB from check-ups, direct sputum smear microscopy (DSSM), X-Rays up and medications.

City Health Officer, Dr. Jaime Exconde Jr is really keen in the observance of the treatment, especially since the city has more than 2,000 cases as of March 2012.  “We cannot disregard this deadly disease because the figures are really alarming and this is one of the dangerous killer illnesses all over the world,” he said.

Representatives from different sectors recounted their respective achievements in TB prevention for the year 2011.  Dr. John Philip Tiongco narrated the reports of Valenzuela City’s TB Program, highlighting several cases that have been successfully cured.  Maria Benilda Castañeda, Clinic Nurse of SM Supercenter Valenzuela accounted how their company responded to the City’sTB program and how they successfully implemented projects on their employees, while Valenzuela City Jail nurse SJO3 Angie Ibañez told the story of an inmate patient who is now finally TB-free after more than 24 months of medication.

The fight against tuberculosis is one of the programs of Department of Health (DOH) that will continue to push through as part of Goal 6 in the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) which is to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. MDGs are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015.