By Hilda Austria/PNA
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — The provincial government of Pangasinan is partnering with the Philippine Business for Social Progress, Inc. (PBSPI) to step up the province’s control and treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB).
Board member Jeremy Agerico Rosario said PBSPI is an accredited social development foundation that will implement the Programmatic Management of Drug-resistant Tubercolosis (PMDT) project nationwide.
Rosario said the foundation has the technology to treat the patients with drug-resistant TB, which is now common in the country because of the TB patients’ inconsistency in taking their medication.
“It is sad to note that there are still TB cases in our province, like in the rest of the country, despite the fact that it can be treated and it is treated for free as the government provides free medication, resulting in a drug-resistant TB,” he said in an interview Wednesday.
He identified the incomplete medication of patients as the culprit to uncured and drug-resistant TB disease.
“In the past, we have sought the help of the drugstores in the province through a resolution to not sell TB medications in partial or retail to patients but should follow the complete prescription, as there are patients who cannot afford to buy the whole prescription. Instead, we asked them to advise the patients to consult government hospitals as TB medication there is free,” he said.
Rosario further said five out of the 14 government-run hospitals in the province were among the beneficiaries of the PMDT project with PBSPI.
These are Pangasinan Provincial Hospital, Urdaneta District Hospital, Eastern Pangasinan District Hospital, Western Pangasinan District Hospital, and Bayambang District Hospital, and the Region One Medical Center in Dagupan City (chartered city), he said.
Authored by Rosario, a resolution authorizing Governor Amado Espino III to sign a memorandum of agreement with PBSPI was approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan members on Jan. 21 during their regular session.
