DOH seeks TB program funds as PH in top 3 infections worldwide
The Department of Health (DOH) is seeking P4.2 billion for its antituberculosis (TB) program next year, amid a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) showing the Philippines ranks third among countries with the highest TB rates.
According to the WHO Global Tuberculosis report 2025 released on Wednesday, the country accounted for 6.8 percent of TB cases worldwide, after 25 percent in India and 10 percent in Indonesia.
The Philippines was followed by China (6.5 percent), Pakistan (6.3 percent), Nigeria (4.8 percent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.9 percent) and Bangladesh (3.6 percent).
TB incidence
There were 10.7 million people worldwide who developed TB last year, of which the fatalities reached 1.23 million, according to the report.
In a statement also on Wednesday, the DOH said it has allocated P4.2 billion for its TB program in the agency’s proposed 2026 budget.
The department said it plans to screen 12 million Filipinos nationwide by next year in its efforts to reduce TB in the country.
Apart from its proposed allocation, the DOH said it has rolled out a faster regimen called Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment, which has also been expanded to cover drug-resistant TB cases.
“We are already using an innovative treatment for drug-resistant TB that cuts the treatment from two years to only six months with a higher treatment success rate,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said in the statement.
In terms of TB incidence, the Philippines has 500 new cases per 100,000 population, higher than the 131 new cases worldwide, according to the WHO.
The report also found that the Philippines was among 30 countries with a high burden of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)-associated TB.
WHO noted that “of the total number of people who develop TB disease each year, about 90 percent are adults, with more cases among men than women.”
