Iloilo City to Sign $1.25M TB Program Deal with USAID

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

The Iloilo City government is set to receive a total of $1.25 million in grant funding from the United States government to improve its tuberculosis (TB) control efforts.

Under the Tuberculosis Implementation Framework Agreement (TIFA) to be signed with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the city will receive an annual grant of $250,000, estimated at PHP14.36 million, over five years.

Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO) chief Annabelle Tang said the grant would complement the city’s ongoing successes in TB programs.

Data from the City Health Office shows that, in 2023, TB prevalence in the city stood at 660 cases per 100,000 people, with a treatment success rate of 96%.

“The project aims to reduce, if not eliminate, TB. The grant will help us hire personnel, provide training, procure supplies, and enhance TB case-finding,” Tang said.

“[USAID] has seen that we are capable and have consistently performed well in TB case-finding. Iloilo City is a top-performing local government in TB programs, with a treatment success rate consistently above 90%,” she added.

Part of the grant will be used to procure a portable X-ray machine and distribute X-ray vouchers to symptomatic TB patients and suspected cases.

On October 9, the Sangguniang Panglungsod passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Jerry Treñas to sign the TIFA on behalf of the city.

According to the World Health Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2023, TB is the world’s second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, with 7.5 million newly diagnosed cases in 2022, the highest since global monitoring began in 1995.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health recorded 444,037 combined drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB cases in 2022.

The TIFA TB Commitment Grant has already been implemented in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, where the grant was used to establish TB Task Forces and Multi-Sectoral Coordinating Councils at the barangay level to assist local health offices with TB case-finding activities.

In June 2023, USAID Philippines announced an additional PHP14 million grant to Puerto Princesa for follow-up activities under the program.

According to JSI Research & Training Institute Inc., USAID’s partner for the program, the TIFA is an eight-year initiative (2019-2027) that works with national TB programs and local entities to negotiate TB commitment grants and other awards to strengthen TB response and accelerate elimination.

Grantees, including Iloilo City, must submit milestone deliverables to USAID and TIFA for verification to ensure transparency and accountability during the implementation phase.

The TIFA project is part of USAID’s Global Accelerator to End TB Plus, aimed at ending TB by 2030.

“By supporting locally-led programs and catalytic investments, TIFA acknowledges the capabilities of governments and their TB partners to effectively identify needs, manage funding, and improve TB care and treatment,” reads a summary from JSI.