The Department of Health (DOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are significantly ramping up efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in the Philippines, announcing a strategic goal to screen 12 million Filipinos nationwide by 2026.
The aggressive new target is a core component of the newly approved Philippine Strategic TB Elimination Plan Phase 2 (2025–2030), which aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to intensify the fight against the disease, from prevention to treatment.
To back this intensified campaign, the DOH’s proposed 2026 budget under the National Expenditure Program allocates PHP4.2 billion for TB programs, nearly doubling the PHP2.6 billion earmarked in 2025.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa noted the critical role of technology and innovation in accelerating detection and treatment. The country is now leveraging ultra-portable, AI-powered chest X-rays and WHO-recommended Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests for rapid screening and diagnosis.
The DOH added that an innovative all-oral regimen for drug-resistant TB has drastically cut treatment time from two years to just six months.
Preventive measures are also seeing a boost, according to the DOH with a more than 50 percent increase in enrollment for Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment (TPT) in 2024.
The program has been expanded to cover contacts of drug-resistant TB cases and offers shorter regimens, while children with non-severe, drug-susceptible TB now benefit from a shortened four-month treatment course.
Meanwhile, despite a 3 percent reduction from the previous year, TB remains a major public health crisis in the Philippines, which accounted for 6.8 percent of the estimated 10.7 million global TB cases in 2024. The disease still claims approximately 98 lives daily in the country.
The national campaign is guided by the Philippine Acceleration Action Plan for Tuberculosis, a joint effort with government agencies, civil society, and private partners committed to the goal of ending the disease in the Philippines by 2030.
The WHO also reaffirmed its steadfast support for the DOH, emphasizing that progress in the country brings the world closer to ending the global challenge of tuberculosis.