AIRBORNE Infection Defense Platform (AIDP), an anti-tuberculosis initiative, was launched at the 16th Asean Health Ministers Meeting on Thursday.
The platform was created in response to the high number of TB cases in Southeast Asia.
Global TB Report 2023 showed that 2.4 million people across the region were estimated to be affected by the disease, with five Asean countries — Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam — included in the World Health Organization’s high-burden TB list.
The Philippines has been appointed as chairman of the Stop TB Partnership, a non-government organization that works toward the elimination of TB.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, resources were redirected from TB to Covid-19, leading to an estimated increase of almost half a million additional deaths due to TB from 2020 to 2022.
“One thing we have learned during the pandemic is that a strong system against TB can be a significant asset in dealing with other airborne diseases — for example, the Philippines began introducing the molecular rapid diagnostic tests for TB as early as 2012 and gradually expanded the laboratory network to make it the primary diagnostic tool by 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Investing in tackling one airborne infection such as TB is an investment into tackling all airborne infections,” said Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa.
Dr. Anna Marie Celina, director of the Health Department’s Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, said an integrated approach against TB was necessary, including multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Professor Tjandra Yoga Aditama, program lead of the AIDP and Stop TB Partnership Indonesia senior advisor, said the Asean TB drive would enhance preparedness for the next pandemic.
“Following this, our second phase will support community-based and primary health care activities and initiatives to strengthen the preparedness capacity of TB responses across Asean to better address airborne respiratory infections or pandemics,” said Dr. Suvanand Sahu, deputy executive director of Stop TB partnership.
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