Reaching the Underserved: Fighting Tuberculosis through Community Agenda-Building and Involvement

“With health as a basic right and need of the communities we work with, CSOs need to build its capacities for evidence-based health advocacy and mainstream health concerns into our programs.”  This is just one of the key messages heard in CODE-NGO’s recent forum on “TB Control-Focused Participatory Governance in Health.”  NGOs, indigenous peoples (IP) and farmers groups from the Mindanao provinces of Maguindanao, Sarangani, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay had the opportunity to dialogue with representatives of government agencies DOH, DSWD, DAR, DILG, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on how the government’s TB health care and other health services can better reach their communities.  DOH National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program Manager Dr. Rosalind Vianzon also presented the country’s TB situationer and how CSOs can contribute to combating the disease.

DOH NTP Manager Dr. Lyn Vianzon on the national TB situation and the role of CSOs in combatting TB		Forum participants from the Maguindanao Network of Organizations		Panel of resource persons from partner government agencies

• “Health is our right and responsibility as a community.”
•  “The marginalized populations are still beyond the effective reach of TB DOTS and other health programs, and various sectors – different government agencies, LGUs, civil society groups and the private sector – have important roles to play in reaching vulnerable groups for health services.”
•  “We can learn from the innovative ways done by communities to campaign for TB control in their areas, and it is important to demonstrate that these innovations actually contribute to health program targets.”
•  “With health as a basic right and need of the communities we work with, CSOs need to build its capacities for evidence-based health advocacy and mainstream health concerns into our programs.”    

These were just some of the key messages heard in CODE-NGO’s forum on “TB Control-Focused Participatory Governance in Health” held last February 28 to March 1, 2011 at ISO Conference Center, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City.  

The forum served as a culminating activity for CODE-NGO’s project with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) on Linking Initiatives and Networking to Control Tuberculosis (TB LINC), a USAID-funded initiative that supports the Department of Health’s National TB Control Program (NTP).  CODE-NGO’s project with TB LINC involved documenting models of NGO-led or sector-based community mobilization for TB control, as well as advocating for national and local policies that will support TB control among vulnerable communities.  The project focused on four provinces in Mindanao, i.e. Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Sarangani and Maguindanao and prioritized the health care needs of indigenous peoples (IPs), agrarian reform communities (ARCs) and internally-displaced persons (IDPs).  CODE-NGO partnered with its member network, Mindanao Coalition of Development NGO Networks (MINCODE), and its affiliates in these provinces, namely, Xavier Agriculture Extension Service (XAES) and Community Organizers Multiversity (COM)., to implement the project.

Apart from a number of CODE-NGO member networks, partner NGOs, IP groups and farmers associations from the 4 provinces were represented in the forum, such as the Maguindanao Network of Organizations (MAGNETO) and Organization of Teduray Lambangian Councils (OTLAC) of Maguindanao, the Sarangani Province Empowerment and Community Transformation Forum (SPECTRUM), Pikhumpongan Dlibon Subanen Inc. (PDSI) of Zamboanga del Sur and Provincial Rubber Farmers Association of Zamboanga Sibugay.  They had the chance to dialogue with representatives of government agencies on how to make TB health care and other health services more accessible to vulnerable groups. Dr. Rosalind Vianzon of the DOH NTP provided an update on the TB situation in the country and how CSOs can help in the TB control initiatives. DSWD Undersecretary Alicia Bala briefed the group on how her agency identifies the poorest households through the National Households Targeting System (NHTS) and how they work with DOH and PhilHealth for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. Dr. Melanie Santillan presented PhilHealth’s program for the informal sector.  Dr. Carlos Buasen Jr. of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) suggested a framework on how to effectively work with IPs, particularly considering their unique needs and perspectives on health. Mr. Reggie Dioneda of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) expressed the openness of their agency to support IEC campaigns for TB control among farmers communities, as part of the social protection component of their agrarian reform beneficiaries’ development program.  Belinda Castro of the DILG Bureau of Local Government Development also updated the group on their agency’s issuance encouraging LGUs to prioritize support for the TB control program.   

Drawing from CODE-NGO’s experience with the TB LINC Project, the CODE-NGO National Board decided in its March 2, 2011 meeting to create a “Committee on Participatory Governance in Health”, to further pursue health advocacy for the vulnerable communities we work with.  MINCODE and PHILSSA (with HealthDev) were elected to lead this committee.  Other member networks are being invited to be part of the committee.  — by Roselle Rasay, Coordinator for the CODE-NGO Project with PBSP-TB LINC.