Companies join fight vs TB in the workplace

The fight against tuberculosis in the workplace takes on increased potency. Twelve companies from all over the country are aggressively promoting and undertaking tuberculosis control activities in their workplaces and neighboring communities.

Pilot companies Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc., Toyota Motor Phils. Corp., American Standard and Aboitiz Transport System Corp. have been recognized for their participation in the TB-DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course) in the Workforce Program.

Seventy-five Filipinos die of TB everyday and it infects more than 50 percent of Filipinos. Majority of TB sufferers are young adults in their wage-earning years.

DOTS is being implemented under the National TB Program and the Comprehensive and Unified Policy for TB Control in the Philippines which were ratified through Executive Order 187 issued on March 21, 2003.

The EO calls on the private sector to actively fight TB by adopting the TB-DOTS in the Workplace Program.

Heading its implementation is the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), a corporate-led social development foundation, under the Philippine Tuberculosis Initiatives for the Private Sector (Philippine TIPS) consortium with support from the US Agency for International Development.

The program was envisioned to harness business resources in delivering DOTS services to workers. The PBSP assists companies in setting up a TB program following DOTS.

"TB cases in the workplace can result not just in absenteeism, but also reduced productivity and disrupted workflow. We also have to account for the direct cost of treatment plus indirect costs such as replacement of workers," PBSP assistant director Jazmin Gutierrez said.

Program implementers develop company policies responsive to the needs of TB patients, recognizing their rights and ensuring proper control of TB. They also ensure that diagnosis and treatment of TB patients comply with DOTS.

The services of the TB-DOTS in the Workplace Program’s pilot model companies are also extended to the informal workforce and the community, where bulk of the TB patients are.

Companies not just benefit from the health of the communities that supply either their manpower or raw materials, but have also clearly expressed intent to practice corporate social responsibility.

Some cases include DOLE Stanfilco’s outreach to the plantation communities that supply its raw materials, or Central Azucarera Don Pedro’s assistance to the communities of sugar workers and planters.

Another pilot case is Aboitiz’s program with Parola, Tondo where majority of port workers and their families reside.

DOTS is a World Health Organization-recommended strategy in curing the disease. It ensures the diagnosis, treatment and cure of TB patients through standardized systems and procedures in TB control and management.