“ON THE MOVE AGAINST TB, INNOVATE TO ACCELERATE ACTION”: DOH MARKS 2010 WORLD TB DAY

From: DOH WebPgae

The Department of Health (DOH) revealed today that the current year 2010 is the halfway mark of the 2006-2015 Global Plan to stop Tuberculosis, or TB. This year’s theme, “On the Move Against TB, Innovate to Accelerate Action”, speaks of the need for new ways to make anti-TB services even more accessible and efficient.

The Philippines has itself made great strides in combating TB. From a high mortality rate of 38.2 deaths per 100,000 population in 1990, the Philippine Health Statistics reported a lower rate of 31/100,000.

While the Philippines is still included in the World Health Organization (WHO) watchlist of 22 high-burden countries, it has lowered its ranking in TB prevalence from 7th to 9th. TB also remains the 6th leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the country, but experts have observed a decreasing trend.

The country has also made notable improvements in TB case detection, reflected by the increase over the past five years in the number of all TB cases identified, from 134,000 to 150,000 per year. Almost half a million smear positive cases were started on treatment and 90% have been successfully treated.

In pursuit of further success, the National TB Program (NTP) formulated the Philippine Plan of Action to Control TB 2010-2015 (PhilPACT) with the support of the WHO and the United States Assistance for International Development (USAID) through the TB-LINC and Health Policy Development Projects.

Administrative orders have also been formulated and implemented for the provision of services in selected sites for multi-drug resistant TB (MDRTB) patients, those with TB and HIV, prisoners/inmates with TB and for the nationwide expansion of TB services for children.

“We must scale up efforts and continue to seek new and innovative ways to stop TB if we are to successfully attain targets under the Millennium Development Goals”, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral declared. Secretary Cabral also noted that, in collaboration with the Philhealth, more than 500 TB-DOTS facilities (public and private) have been certified and accredited in 2009. Patients can access the TB Outpatient Benefit Package of Philhealth.

Services in the urban poor areas have also been enhanced through the involvement of non-government organizations in Tondo, Manila and Payatas, Quezon City through the support and collaboration of the NTP, the Research Institute for Tuberculosis and the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Foundation.

Secretary Cabral likewise stressed the importance of private sector involvement through the Philippine Coalition against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT). The private sector contributed nearly 10,000 cases detected under the Public-Private Mix DOTS (PPMD) strategy.

In all these initiatives, the DOH has been the primary provider of anti-TB drugs for all cases detected under the Program.

DOH SUPPORTS WORKPLACE FOR ADOPTING ‘AIDS IN THE WORKPLACE’ PROGRAM

From: DOH WebPage

The Department of Health (DOH) today revealed that the Philippines witnessed a sharp increase in the number of diagnosed HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) cases in the last three years. Majority of these recorded cases belong to the economically-productive age group.

“In 2000, an average of one new case is diagnosed every three days. In 2007, it rose to one new case per day. Last year, there were two new cases diagnosed in a day,” Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said.

Due to the rising trend and because most infections can be found among economically-productive individuals, Cabral explained that the business sector is in a position to help curb the rising trend in HIV infections by setting up policies and programs in the workplace. This program is also in consonance to provisions in Republic Act 8504 or the AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998.

The health chief added that HIV/AIDS programs in the workplace is a vital response because the disease increases business costs like increased burden of healthcare provision, lower productivity of infected employees, loss of skilled workers, increased risks in the workplace and indifference among employees.

The midterm assessment of the Philippine AIDS Medium Term Plan IV recommended the strengthening of partnership with the private sector. However, the Philippine Business for Social Progress noted in 2008 that private sector involvement and response to HIV/AIDS in the workplace has yet to be strengthened.

Few companies led by Chairperson of Shell companies in the Philippines Ed Chua has taken the role of being the ‘Business Champion for Health of the Philippines to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.’ As a result, several companies had signified their interest to establish ‘AIDS in the Workplace’ program.

Organizations that support the ‘AIDS in the Workplace’ program include Philippine Business for Social Progress, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, International Labour Organization, UNAIDS, and the Philippine National AIDS Council. A partnership agreement is envisioned to be drawn to describe the roles and responsibilities of each organization for this initiative.

“The rising number of HIV cases in the workforce makes it imperative for business to take drastic action to prevent new infections in the labor sector,“ Cabral stressed, adding that the tripartite workplace sector (including government-management-labor sectors) should highlight interventions targeted to address risky behaviors, because this sector also includes a vast number of customers and clients, which may include the most-at-risk populations.

Meanwhile, a one day National HIV/AIDS Summit will be held on 12 April 2010 at the Manila Diamond Hotel to inform national leaders on the current state of HIV/AIDS in the country and the need for urgent action towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal 6, particularly HIV. The workplace sector is one of the sectors to attend this event.

FIRST PHILIPPINE GLOBAL ADULT TOBACCO SURVEY SHOWS MANY FILIPINOS EXPOSED TO SECOND-HAND SMOKE

From: DOH WebPage

The Department of Health (DOH) today disclosed that almost half of the Filipinos surveyed in the first Philippine Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) revealed that they live in homes where smoking is allowed.

In coordination with the National Statistics Office, a total of 9,705 individuals in rural and urban areas of the country 15 years of age and older (to represent 61.3 million Filipinos) were selected and interviewed in 2009. Of this number, 28.3% were current tobacco smokers, representing 17.3 million Filipinos and 22.5% or approximately 13.8 million Filipinos smoke every day. The average age of initiation for daily smokers 18-34 years old was 17.4 years old.

The GATS data revealed that almost half (48.8% or 29.8 million) of Filipinos are exposed to cigarette smoke in their homes and 54% (32.9 million) reported that someone smokes at least monthly in their homes.

The knowledge, attitude and perception of the respondents that smoking causes serious illness were very high at 94%; 95.6% believe that smoking can cause lung cancer, heart attack (81.3%) and stroke (75.5%).

More importantly, among those who work indoors, 65.4% of their worksites have policies “disallowing” smoking yet 13.9% were exposed to second hand smoke (SHS). More than a quarter (25.5%) of Filipinos who visited a government building during the past 30 days were similarly exposed. while 55.3% (28 million) Filipinos who used the public transport during the past month were exposed to SHS.

“This is why we are urging cigarette manufacturers to put graphic health warnings on their products”, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said, adding that there is also a need to work fast towards 100% smoke-free environments where there is still very high exposure of second-hand smoke at homes, public places and indoor places.

Cabral also said that communities and local government units need to address this issue by passing ordinances to strengthen provisions of RA9211 or the Tobacco Regulatory Act of 2003 on "Healthful Environment" without exemptions.

The GATS is a standardized global survey for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use and tracking key tobacco control indicators. The Philippine GATS is a joint collaborative effort of the Philippine Department of Health and the National Statistics Office, the field implementing agency. Technical support was provided by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DOH ADVOCATES FOR WELLNESS THROUGH COMPLIANCE TO MEDICINES REGIMEN

From: DOH WebPage

With medicine prices going down, the DOH is now reminding our public to use medicines rationally and to complete their prescribed treatment regimen.

Local and international trends are geared towards wellness. Rather than be burdened with the high costs of treatment, especially of hospitalizations, people tend to prefer to invest in the prevention of diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles and environments. This wellness concept saves money and improves quality of lives.

“Engaging in sports promotes Wellness. Like sports and healthy lifestyles, compliance to medicines regimen is also Wellness. If you take your prescribed medicines rationally and correctly, you will feel better, live longer, be more productive, and have a good quality of life,” Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral stated.

The DOH has launched this “Compliance to Medicines is Wellness” campaign today in ceremonies held at the Philippine Sports Commission compound, the training grounds for Manny Pacquiao during his amateur days. It was witnessed and supported by PSC Chair Harry Angping, a key official in the promotion of Sports and Wellness in the country. The event aims to promote sports and the rational use of medicines.

“Our efforts to bring down prices of medicines would be incomplete if people persist on not completing their treatment,” Cabral explained. “One common malpractice is when patients stop completing antibiotic courses when their symptoms are gone because it costs too much money to complete a course. But this leads to antibiotic resistance which in turn pushes doctors to prescribe more expensive antibiotics later on.”

An example is the antibiotic Amoxicillin which is just around three (3) pesos. To complete a treatment of seven (7) days and cure you of a bacterial infection, you need 21 capsules that cost 63 pesos only. If the infection becomes resistant to Amoxicillin, to complete a course of another antibiotic, this may cost from 700 pesos to more than 1,000 pesos.

Cabral further mentions that, “Even if you suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension, regular intake of prescribed maintenance drugs promises a better quality of life, with less risk for complications or hospitalizations. The lowered costs of medicines now allow our people to comply and complete their treatment courses and take their medicines religiously, if needed.”

These lowered prices of medicines are due to initiatives by government to engage industry to bring down their prices as well as to the competition provided for by lower priced generics whether from local or from multinational sources.

“What we are promoting here are low cost medicines, whether branded or generic. These medicines offer competition that put pressure on high priced medicines to bring down their prices. Generic competition helps and even multinational companies now are geared towards having quality affordable generic lines for their products,” Cabral stressed.

“Manny Pacquiao is our hero. His discipline is an inspiration to us all. And we want our people to exhibit the same discipline in taking medicines as Manny does in training for fights especially now that medicine prices are going down,” Cabral said.

The DOH announced last month the second round of government mediated price reductions that covered 98 medicines. These covered medicines for dialysis, cancer, prostatic disorders, asthma, depression, hypertension, among others. A majority of these price cuts would be effective March 31, 2010. The first round happened August last year where prices of more than 100 medicines were cut by 50%.

TOKEN OF APPRECIATION FOR HUMANITARIAN TEAM TO HAITI

From: DOH WebPage

Health Secretary Esperanza I. Cabral (8th from left)gave a token of appreciation to the Philippine Humanitarian Team to Haiti for their unconditional dedication and perseverance in demonstrating the Filipino work of healing and caring to others during tiimes of disaster. The team, led by Dr. Emmanuel Bueno of the East Avenue Medical Center, is compose of Dr. Arnel Rivera, Dr.Romeo Bituin, Dr.Glomar Malana, Dr. Edilberto Tamayo, Dr. Christian Lee, Dr. Ryan Conrad Carnero, Dr. Alexander Ramos, Dr. Jose Evan Pagunsan, dr. David Mendoza, and Dr. Roland Cruz. Other members include Ms. Mayo Santiago, Mr. Willy Viloria, Mr. Dennis de Guzman, Mr. Ceasario Castro, Ms. Celia Pangan, Ms. remedios Guerrero, Ms. Bernaden de Leon, Engr. William Sabater, Engr. Paulino Garcia and Mr Rammel Eric Martinez. Also in photo are Undersecretary Alexander Padilla (6th from left), Assistant Secretary Elmer Punzalan (7th from left), Undersecretary David Lozada (9th from left), and assistant secretary Gerardo Bayugo (10th from left)

MOST DOH HOSPITALS FULLY COMPLIANT WITH TOTAL MERCURY PHASE-OUT

From: DOH WebPage

Press Release/ 4 March 2010

The Department of Health (DOH) reported today that 16 out of the 20 DOH-retained hospitals in Metro Manila have fully complied with the directive on phasing out the use of all apparatuses or devices in the healthcare system that contain mercury.

The phase-out is in keeping with Administrative Order No. 2008-0021 which mandates the gradual phase-out of mercury in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions.

The move to stop the use of all medical devices containing mercury was jumpstarted in 1991, when the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that a safe level for mercury that would not have any adverse effects on a person’s health has never been established.

The list of 16 fully-compliant hospitals include San Lorenzo Ruiz Women’s Hospital, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, Philippine Orthopedic Center, Valenzuela Medical Center, National Center for Mental Health, East Avenue Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Dr. Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, Rizal Medical Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Tondo Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

In a report to Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral last 24 February 2010, there were only four remaining DOH-retained hospitals in Metro Manila that have not yet fully complied with the phase-out.

These four hospitals are the National Children’s Hospital, Amang Rodriguez Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center and National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

The National Children’s Hospital is still using mercurial sphygmomanometers while awaiting delivery of digital sphygmomanometers, while the Heart Center has fully phased out mercurial thermometers, but still has functioning mercurial blood pressure devices that are waiting to be replaced.

The National Kidney and Transplant Institute is still using 11 mercurial sphygmomanometers but these are only used as back up in their hemodialysis units and are awaiting replacements. The Amang Rodriguez Medical Center retrieved nine mercurial blood pressure apparatuses from the condemned equipment damaged by Typhoon Ondoy but these too are due to be replaced soon.

Meanwhile, four compliant hospitals were recognized by the group Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia. These are the San Lazaro Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

According to the Health Chief, mercury must be phased out because of its potentially harmful effects to a person’s health. Mercury can damage the nervous, digestive, respiratory, endocrine and immune systems. It can also cause tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, developmental effects on a fetus, and attention deficit and developmental delays during childhood.

“With all the hazards posed by mercury, it is high time that we complete the implementation of its total phase-out in all hospitals and health facilities”, Cabral concluded.

DOH ANNOUNCES SECOND WAVE OF DRUG PRICE REDUCTION

From: DOH WebPage

Press Release/26 February 2010

The Department of Health (DOH) upon instructions from Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, today announced the second wave of drug price reductions under the Government Mediated Access Price (GMAP).

The new set of price reductions includes the following drugs/medicines: anti-hypercholesterolemia (Ezetrol and Vytorin),anti-hypertensive (Cozaar and Hyzaar), anti-depressant (Seroxat), anti-psychotic (Leponex), anti-cancer (Tykerb, Zoladex, Zoladex LA and Leunase), anti-asthma (Ventolin Rotapack), anti-coagulant (Coumadin and Fraxiparine), anti-glaucoma (Betoptic, Ciloxan, Isoptocarpine and Quinax), medicines for prostate disorders (Avodart) and fluids for patients on kidney dialysis.

Also included are new introductions into the market, whose prices are amongst the lowest when compared with similar products in the same therapeutic categories. These include the following: anti-hepatitis B/anti-viral (Revovir), antibiotic/anti-bacterial (Levofloxacin Winthrop), anti-inflammatory/pain reliever (Meloxicam Winthrop) and anti-asthma (Seretide with a new device).

“We are happy that eleven drug companies responded to our request and offered their medicines for price reduction. We would like to thank them for their cooperation and also encourage other pharmaceutical companies to follow suit. We shall continue to study how we can achieve the greatest impact from such interventions that will benefit all Filipinos, especially the poor,” Health Secretary Esperanza I. Cabral said.

Most of these price reductions will be effective come March 31, 2010, with a few more to be implemented at a later date when supply issues have already been addressed.

This round of the GMAP is calculated to affect more than two billion pesos of the market, and is expected to generate one billion pesos worth of savings for the public. “Imagine the benefit to chronic kidney disease patients, for example. A 30% cut in their expenses for medicines will translate to an added four months worth of dialysis treatments per year”, Cabral added.

BE CAUTIOUS IN BUYING FOOD SUPPLEMENTS - DOH

From: DOH WebPage

Press Release/25 February 2010

The Department of Health (DOH) urged the public to be cautious in buying food and herbal supplements, saying that these are not meant to be alternatives to medicines and sound medical advice from physicians.

The sale of food and herbal supplements has exploded into a billion-peso industry in the Philippines over the past few years, with the advertisements bombarding the public in all forms of media. The employment of celebrity endorsers with testimonials about their supposed "curative" effects has made it an even more lucrative venture.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, however, expressed her concern that many people are wasting hard-earned money on these supplements. "Many are being misled into thinking that these supplements can cure diseases when in fact they can't", said the health chief. Former Health Secretary Dr. Alberto Romualdez, chair of the Medicines Transparency Alliance Philippines (MeTA-Philippines), also said in recent media reports that of the P150 billion being spent for health in the Philippines, about half goes down the drain because there are used on products which have no effects on the health or wellnesss of people.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is under the DOH, has repeatedly issued warnings to the public to always check whether the products they buy are approved by the FDA and are marked with the disclaimer "NO APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS". Secretary Cabral has also ordered the translation of the warning into Filipino for the greater understanding of the public. Manufacturers of food supplements shall be required to put the Filipino translation of the disclaimer in the packaging of their products, as well as in all advertising, promotion and sponsorship materials.

"We are not against the food and herbal supplements industry, but it is in the best interest of the people that they be armed with the right information on these products". Cabral said.