Aside from identifying people with TB symptoms or TB symptomatics, community volunteer groups called TB Task Forces also help in TB patient diagnosis as part of their contribution to the Philippine government’s National TB Control Program.

Based in barangays or villages, TB Task Force volunteers help prepare sputum samples, a crucial stage in the diagnosis of TB patients.

Sputum, more commonly known as phlegm, is a thick fluid produced in the lungs.  Samples of sputum from a person with a two-week cough are needed to test for TB.

Local health partners participated in organizing volunteer groups who are now helping people suffering from a disease that kills about 75 Filipinos everyday.

Called TB Task Forces, these groups of mothers, senior citizens, students and fathers retired from work identify people sick with tuberculosis (TB) and refer them to barangay or village health centers for free diagnostic and treatment services. 

For every four children under five years old, one is hindered from proper growth by malnutrition. For every 1000 Filipino children, 25 die even before reaching the age of five due to pneumonia, diarrhea,

malnutrition or lack of access to quality health care services.

The well-supported Child Health Now Global Week of Action in the Philippines was capped with the launching of the World Vision and Save the Children report Nutrition Barometer: Gauging National

Responses to Undernutrition, sending the message that child survival is largely dependent on government’s commitment and multi-sectoral support. 

“Give DOH three years and we will make it sound-sound,” says Dr. Eric Tayag of the Department of Health, referring to improving Philippine commitment for children’s nutritional status as it fared frail in this criteria, but scored with “sound outcomes” in an international nutrition study launched recently.

The Nutrition Barometer: Gauging national responses to undernutrition, a report jointly undertaken and published by international non-government organizations World Vision and Save the Children, measures for the first time political and economic commitments to tackle children malnutrition in a group of 36 high-burden countries, including the Philippines.

This is done to constantly and consistently monitor the health and dental condition of the children to ensure proper development and growth.

Improvement and sanitation of health facilities are vital as we adapt to technological changes and address the treatment and health care of the patients.

Operation Timbang is done to identify the initial health status of the children in program. Children in need of extra nourishment are closely monitored and are provided with supplementary medication to improve their health. Children and families are given access to these health programs implemented in coordination with the Local Health Units, DOH & DSWD.

World Vision’s Social Mobilization on TB project has mobilized more than 5,100 volunteers in 13 cities and 4 provinces throughout the Philippines. Their work entails raising awareness, referring those with TB symptoms for diagnosis and acting as treatment partners to TB patients, and advocate for local partners' support to TB control.

Each year, there are 8.8 million children under five years old dying from several illnesses that can be prevented or treated. And half of these deaths (50%) are caused by malnutrition, a condition when the body does not get the right amount of nutrients, minerals and vitamins that it needs to remain healthy. In the Philippines, malnutrition is not just a consequence of hunger but also of other complex factors such as food distribution, health and sanitation, and lack of knowledge on balance diet.

Malnourished children may be short for their age, thin, listless, and have a weak immune system. Undernourishment may also affect the child’s emotional and psychological capacity--- a consequence that is oftentimes overlooked.