Continuing its commitment to helping elevate the country's education system, SM Foundation, Inc. (SMFI), in partnership with SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) and the Department of Education (DepEd), have recently collaborated to construct two new school buildings in Laguna and Batangas.

Upon the completion of the joint initiative, two two-story four-classroom school buildings will be donated to the Laguna Resettlement Community School in San Pedro City, Laguna and the San Antonio Elementary School in Sto. Tomas City, Batangas.

Each of the school buildings is set to be equipped with learning materials, armchairs, handwashing facilities, emergency equipment, and PWD-friendly facilities to ensure that students, especially from low-income communities, gain access to modern, safe, and conducive learning facilities.

Formalizing the partnership, representatives from the SMFI, DepEd, and the local government units of said provinces attended the memorandum of agreement signing last April 28, 2023, at the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) in Malvar, Batangas.

SM Foundation, through its School Building Program, is an active partner of DepEd in various educational programs. This social good initiative aims to promote quality public education by building classrooms nationwide. To date, it has turned over more than 100 school buildings to grassroots communities.

OIC Secretary of Health – Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire and Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. present the PAAP-TB document

 The Department of Health (DOH) has launched the Philippine Acceleration Action Plan for Tuberculosis (PAAP-TB), a multisectoral initiative to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) in the country by 2035. The DOH together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), through the PAAP-TB aims to provide wider access to health services, and improved education and public information, social protection, and labor protection to eradicate TB by 2030.

Department of Social Welfare and Development Assistant Secretary Janet Armas during the press conference at the Philippine Acceleration Action Plan for Tuberculosis (PAAP-TB) initiative

FDA Director IV Jesusa Joyce N. Cirunay delivers pledge of support for the elimination of TB in the Philippines

Tuberculosis is a chronic communicable disease that comes second only to COVID-19 as a leading cause of mortality from a single infectious organism. According to the Global TB Report 2022, the disease accounted for 1.6 million deaths in 2021. In a preliminary report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) this year, TB continues to rank 11th among the causes of death in the Filipino population.

TB elimination entails improving access to TB services, and addressing the social, economic, and physical determinants that significantly affect its occurrence, transmission, and even treatment. “In addressing these social determinants of health, we enjoin all our sectoral stakeholders for synergistic solutions to overcrowding, low education, malnutrition, and ultimately poverty. Our collective interventions will make TB services equitable, especially for the poor,” said Officer-in-Charge Secretary Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire. The PAAP-TB aims to address the nation's TB epidemic by re-examining current programs and initiatives of National Coordinating Committee for Tuberculosis (TB-NCC) member organizations. Together, these collaborating sectors will provide an action plan and involve the private sector and organizations to achieve the program's goals over two medium terms.

USAID Philippines Deputy Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks delivers pledge of support for the elimination of TB in the Philippines

 

TESDA QSO Director El Cid Castillo delivers pledge of support for the elimination of TB in the Philippines

 

PhilHealth Acting President and CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. delivers pledge of support for the elimination of TB in the Philippines

 Also present at the event were representatives from various sectors committed to eradicating TB in the Philippines, Department of Health Assistant Secretary Beverly Ho, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., DSWD Assistant Secretary Janet Armas, DOLE Executive Director for the Occupational Safety and Health Center Ma. Teresita Cucueco, and FDA Director IV Jesusa Joyce Cirunay.

OIC Secretary of Health – Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire delivers opening remarks on the importance of TB eradication and building a healthy population

“By engaging multiple disciplines, organizations, sectors, and partners can combine strengths and leverage resources, expertise, and knowledge, while addressing the social, environmental, economic, and political systemic drivers that influence behaviors and prevent the effective delivery of health policies and interventions,” said Officer-In-Charge Singh-Vergeire.

The PAAP-TB document has been developed with technical support from the USAID’s TB Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening Project implemented by FHI 360.