ARMM to step-up efforts on tuberculosis control

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Oct. 26 (PIA) -- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government is set to intensify its efforts on tuberculosis (TB) control. 

ARMM Governor Mujiv S. Hataman will soon ink the adoption of Executive Order (EO) 187, series of 2003, instituting the Comprehensive and Unified Policy (CUPS) for TB Control in the region. 

TB ranked fifth among the ten leading causes of deaths in the ARMM. In 2010 alone, around 141 died from the disease. 

“Sa kabuuan, mababa pa ang case detection sa ARMM, at maraming kaso pa ang dapat mapagtuunan lalo na sa mga malalayong lugar. Dapat paiigtingin pa ang pagpapalaganap ng kaalaman at angkop na mga materyales para tuluyang masugpo ang nakakahawang karamdamang ito,” (The case detection in ARMM is still low and there is a need to look into many cases particularly in far-flung areas. The dissemination of knowledge and appropriate materials should be further intensified to completely control this infectious disease) said Dr. Dolores Castillo of the TB-Linking Initiatives on Networking to Control Tuberculosis (TB-LINC). 

The EO will be adopted to disseminate guidelines, procedures and standards of implementation, as well as, to facilitate compliance among local government units in improving the quality and extent of their TB control efforts. 

The Health Reform Framework through the ARMM Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Governance, and Synergy (HELPS) program prioritizes responsive health system by improving health service access and delivery. 

This is in line with the Millennium Development Goals and the Universal Health Care Agenda of the President. 

The ARMM HELPS, a banner program of the Hataman administration, focuses on the major interventions that will be pursued by cluster agencies in health, education, livelihood, peace and governance. (BPI-ARMM/APB/PIA-10)