Year 4 Annual Progress Report: Innovations and Multisectoral Partnerships to Achieve Control of Tuberculosis Project

The project received funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-492-A-12-00014 with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). The project's goal was to improve TB case notification, treatment, and management. In Year 4 (October 2015-September 2016), the project made significant progress. The case notification rate in USG-assisted provinces and cities rose to 279 per 100,000 population in FY 2016, exceeding the target of 260 per 100,000 population. This translated to an additional 15,856 notified TB cases, with 61,221 cases contributed by non-traditional service providers. The project provided technical assistance to the Department of Health (DOH) National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) and the National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory. This assistance helped manage a functional TB diagnosis system, which found more TB cases. A total of 211 hospital-based microscopy laboratories served 19,558 TB presumptive cases, with 3,690 patients found positive for TB and enrolled in treatment. The project also facilitated TB screening among vulnerable groups, including 9,973 indigenous people, malnourished children, and TB household contacts. The project's interventions helped improve case-holding, with a treatment success rate (TSR) of 91% in USG-assisted sites. To address the unstable supply of anti-TB drugs, the project assisted local government units in budgeting for procurement. Monitoring showed that 216 (52%) of 423 municipalities/cities in 30 USG-assisted sites bought anti-TB drugs for adults, and 149 (35%) procured pediatric anti-TB drugs. The project also focused on addressing loss to follow-up due to adverse drug reactions. In Year 5, the project will focus on addressing this issue through training and technical assistance. The Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Plan Act (Republic Act 10767) was signed in April 2016. The project assisted DOH-NTP in framing the law's implementing rules and regulations (IRR), which will be signed by the DOH Secretary in the first quarter of 2017. Overall, the IMPACT project made significant progress in improving TB case notification, treatment, and management in the Philippines. The project's interventions helped improve case-holding, and the project's focus on addressing loss to follow-up due to adverse drug reactions will continue in Year 5.