TB Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening | Year 5 Quarter 1 Report (Oct to Dec 2021)

The project, managed by FHI 360, aims to strengthen national and regional health systems to help the country achieve TB elimination targets by 2035. To achieve this goal, the project assists the Department of Health (DOH) and other national partners to identify, develop, pilot, adapt, and scale up innovative technologies and approaches to meet the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) objectives and Philippine Strategic TB Elimination Plan Phase 1 (PhilSTEP1) targets. The project has three main objectives: Rapidly identify and expand state-of-the-art approaches to maximize TB case detection and health-seeking behavior (Reach TB), Integrate and institutionalize high-impact practices to improve TB and drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) adherence and quality of care for public and nonpublic sectors (Cure TB), and Create a supportive environment encompassing the continuum of TB prevention to care (Prevent TB). To achieve these objectives, the project provides technical assistance at the national level and implements modalities at the regional and provincial levels in collaboration with other implementing partners. In Year 5 Quarter 1 (Y5Q1), the project achieved several key milestones despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and other programmatic and operational challenges. These achievements include the launch of the Introducing New Tools Project (iNTP), which was cited by the DOH as the first TB-related activity that successfully concretized the DOH Healthy Pilipinas campaign. The project also screened 4,914 clients during active case finding activities in 17 workplace settings, 2,683 people were screened by chest X-ray in intensified case finding activities in three Level 3 hospitals, and 620 pharmacy professionals enrolled in a digital module entitled "TB eLearning Course for Pharmacy Professionals." The project also facilitated the 9th pooled procurement through the Philippine Private Sector Diagnostics Consortium (PPSDC), which brought a total of 3,350 GeneXpert MTB/RIF and Ultra cartridges procured since the Consortium launch in February 2020. Additionally, the project published 15 media stories in printed and online media and radio broadcast, reaching 5 million users and gaining an earned media value of PhP 2.7 million. Furthermore, the project installed 4 additional rapid TB diagnostic laboratories (RTDLs) with DataToCare (DTC) laboratory connectivity, completing the installation in 50 target sites. The project also co-developed an implementation guideline for TB screening using ultraportable chest X-ray (UPCXR) with artificial intelligence (AI) with the Philippine DOH, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and World Health Organization (WHO), which was later issued as DOH Department Memorandum No. 2021-0518. The project's efforts to address the issue of missing people with TB, especially among vulnerable populations, are also noteworthy. The project aims to enable wide and sustainable reach by engaging health care providers, stakeholders, and policymakers across multiple sectors as beneficiaries and partners of the project activities. Overall, the project's achievements in Y5Q1 demonstrate its commitment to accelerating the fight against TB in the Philippines and achieving the country's TB elimination targets by 2035.