The government’s campaign against tuberculosis and HIV-AIDS got a boost from the House of Representatives with a P700-M additional fund included in the newly approved 2008 General Appropriations Bill (House Bill No. 2454).

Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said that this additional fund was appropriated to address the country’s commitment to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as prescribed by the United Nations. One of the MDG goals is the combating of HIV-AIDS and tuberculosis.

Lagman disclosed that an additional budget of P400-M was allocated to the Department of Health (DOH) for the prevention and cure of pulmonary tuberculosis increasing the proposed allocation of P12.312-M in the President’s National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Lagman added that another P200-M was allotted to the Department of Education for the treatment of public school teachers and non-teaching personnel who are afflicted with tuberculosis.

DepEd previously announced that close to 2,000 teachers are sick of TB and they tend to transmit the disease to their pupils and students.

Recent data from the Department of Health reveal that tuberculosis is ranked the sixth killer disease in the Philippines.

From an appropriation of P10-M in the NEP to the DOH for prevention of HIV-AIDS and the management of afflicted patients, the House added P100-M while the Senate contributed P50-M or a total of P150-M increased allocation.

In terms of HIV incidents, the Philippines is now placed in the alarming “hidden and growing” category down from its “low and slow” status in the past years.

According to the United Nation’s Report on Global AIDS Epidemic, while the number of people living with HIV in the Philippines is still low, the number has more than doubled compared to 2001.