Philippine Coalition Against TB
TDFI involvement in PhilCAT activities
The Tropical Disease Foundation, Inc. has been a member of the Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT) since 1996. It has actively participated in various Coalition activities, like the following:
* Participation in the annual regular election of board officers
* Membership in Organizing Committees for the WTBD and PhilCAT convention
* Observance of the annual World TB Day (WTBD)
* Attendance in the annual PhilCAT convention
* Participation in the development of TB guidelines and consensus
In 2003, TDFI took part in several training activities of the coalition as either participant or resource speaker for the DOTS Certifiersâ?? Workshop and TB Diagnostic Committee Training. In 2005, it was also involved in the DOTS Training for Physicians and Nurses.
In 2005, TDFI broke new ground as it initiated the involvement of patients in the observance of WTBD and the annual PhilCAT convention, where MDR-TB patients displayed and sold their handicrafts to the public. This has become a yearly practice.
In 2006, TDFI, in partnership with PhilCAT and the Department of Health (DOH), organized the Philippine Launch of the Global Plan to Stop TB (2006 â?? 2015) and the Election of Members of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). The launch was a historic event in the Philippines, being the first Asian country to have initiated a local launch of the Global Plan, bringing together more than 500 participants from more than 80 organizations in the Philippines.