About NTP

The National TB Control Program, organized in 1978 and operating within a devolved health care delivery system, is one of the public health programs being managed and coordinated by the Infectious Diseases for Prevention and Control Division (IDPCD) of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (DPCB) of the Department of Health (DOH). Headed by a Program Manager and supported by 20 technical and administrative staff it has the following mandate; (1) develop policies, standards and the national strategic plan, (2) manage program logistics, (3) provide leadership and technical assistance to the lower health offices / units, (4) manage data, and (5) conduct monitoring and evaluation. The program’s TB diagnostic and treatment protocols and strategies, issued through the Manual of Procedures, are in accordance the policies of World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Standards for TB Care (ISTC). Its last strategic plan was the 2010 – 16 Philippine Plan of Action to Control TB or PhilPACT.

The NTP closely works with various offices of the DOH such as the National Center for Health Promotion (NCHP) for advocacy, communication and social mobilization, the Epidemiology Bureau (EB) and the Knowledge and Management Information and Technology Services (KMITS) for data management, Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau (HPDPB) for policy and strategic plan formulation, Material Management Division (MMD), Central Office Bids and Awards Committee (COBAC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for drug and supplies management, the National TB Reference Laboratory of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (NTRL-RITM) for laboratory network management, Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) for PMDT related research and training activities and the 17 ROs for technical support to the PHOs and implementing units. It also coordinates with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for the TB-DOTS accreditation and utilization of the TB-DOTS outpatient benefit package.

The 17 Regional Offices (ROs) through its Regional NTP teams manages TB at the regional level while the provincial health office (PHOs) and city health offices (CHOs), through its provincial /city teams are responsible for the TB control efforts in the provinces and cities. TB diagnostic and treatment services is part of the basic integrated health services that are provided by DOTS (currently means delivery of treatment services) facilities which could either be the public health facilities such as the RHUs, health centers, hospitals; other public health facilities such as school clinics, military hospitals, prison/jail clinics; NTP-engaged private facilities such as the private clinics, private hospitals, private laboratories, drug stores and others. Community groups such as the community health teams and barangay health workers participate in community-level activities.

NTP closely works with the 17 government offices and 5 private organizations in compliance with the Comprehensive and Unified Policy (CUP) issued by the Office of the President in 2003. Under the framework of public-private mix (PPM) collaboration in TB-DOTS, NTP collaborates with non-governmental organizations such as the Philippine Coalition Against TB (PhilCAT), a consortium of 60 groups, and the 100-year old Philippine TB Society, Inc. (PTSI) and many others. Various developmental partners and their projects provide technical and financial support to NTP such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Fund Against AIDS, TB and Malaria (Global Fund), Research Institute of TB/Japan Anti-TB Association (RIT/JATA), Korean Foundation for International Health (KOFIH) and Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and KNCV.

Program Accomplishments

  Significant progress has been achieved since the Philippines adopted the DOTS strategy in 1996 and at the end of 2002-2003, all public health centers are enabled to deliver DOTS services. Because of the Government’s efforts to continuously improve health care delivery, there have been progressive increases in the detection and treatment success. While a strong groundwork has been installed, acceleration of efforts is entailed to expand and sustain successful TB control. All stakeholders are called upon to achieve the TB targets linked to the MDGs set to be attained by 2015. However, with the emergence of other TB threats, more has to be done. Likewise, with the ongoing global developments and new technologies in the pipeline, constraints will hopefully be addressed. The 2010-2016 PhilPACT as defined by multi-sector partners, through broad-based collective technical inputs, underlines the key strategic approaches towards achieving these targets at both national and local levels. The Plan aims for universal access to DOTS including strategic responses to vulnerable groups and emerging TB threats. Nationwide, a wide array of health facilities are installed and equipped to provide quality TB care to the general population. This involves participation of private facilities (clinics, hospitals), other health-related agencies or NGOs and other Government organizations. Coverage for DOTS services, at least in the public primary care network has reached nearly 100% in late 2002. Eversince, diagnosis through sputum smear microscopy and treatment with a complete set of anti-TB drugs are given free through the support of the Government. Training on TB care for different types of health workers is being conducted through the regional and local NTP Coordinators. The conclusions during the program implementation review (PIR) done by the DOH of selected public health programs on January 2008 revealed the following:

     * Extent and quality of nationwide TB-DOTS coverage have reached levels necessary for eventual control since 2004 up to present
     * NTP continues to add enhancements and improvements to TB care providers for better delivery of services.