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A long road back to normal

Philippines

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Our teams in the Philippines work on tackling the alarming tuberculosis (TB) incidence rate in the country, which is the highest in Asia.

In 2021, we launched a new TB project in the densely populated and impoverished Tondo area of the capital, Manila.

In the southern city of Marawi, we continued to provide general and mental healthcare to people displaced and affected by the armed conflict that erupted between the army and a group related to the Islamic State group in 2017.  

In 2020 and 2021, our teams supported in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in 2022, to the typhoon Rai response in Northern Mindanao.

Our activities in 2022 in the Philippines

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2022.

MSF in the Philippines in 2022 Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continued to respond to the high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the Philippines, where it kills an estimated three people every hour.*
Philippines IAR map 2022

In 2021, to curb the spread of the disease and reduce the incidence rate – currently the fourth highest in the world – MSF started activities in the capital, Manila. In 2022, we launched new activities with a mobile X-ray truck in the district of Tondo, one of the capital’s most densely populated and impoverished areas, where people are most susceptible to TB infection. In collaboration with the Manila Health Department, our teams provided health promotion to encourage people to undergo chest X-ray examination. Patients are then referred to local health centres for treatment. Our teams also conduct home visits immediately after the diagnosis to screen households’ close contacts, administer TB skin tests, and offer preventive TB treatment to children. Early diagnosis and treatment are some of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of TB.

In Marawi, in the southern part of the Philippines, we continued to assist people displaced and affected by the armed confrontation between government forces and pro-Islamic State group militants in 2017, by providing general and mental health care, as well as treatment for non-communicable diseases. In December, with the acute and post-emergency phases of our medical response over, we closed the project and handed over activities to local health organisations. 

Following the devastation caused in December 2021 by Super Typhoon Rai (locally known as Odette), which affected central and southern Philippines and displaced around 333,000 people, MSF carried out an emergency response in the island-province of Dinagat and on outlying islands of Surigao City. Lasting until mid-March, the intervention focused on supporting health facilities with additional staff, running mobile clinics offering mental health and psychosocial support in isolated areas, facilitating referrals of critical patients, distributing hygiene items and safe water, and donating essential medical materials. 

*Department of Health 2019 Philippines TB joint program review, https://ntp.doh.gov.ph/download/joint-program-review-2019-epidemiological-review/

 

in 2022
 
Construction of the hospital in Guiuan
Philippines

One year after typhoon Haiyan

Report 18 Dec 2014
 
Philippines

MSF teams reach areas most impacted by typhoon Hagupit and find a population well prepared

Project Update 11 Dec 2014
 
Philippines

MSF teams reach affected areas of Samar and Masbate

Crisis Update 10 Dec 2014
 
MSF surgical team leaves for Manila in preparation for typhoon Hagupit
Philippines

Typhoon Hagupit weakens, MSF teams to assess Samar

Crisis Update 8 Dec 2014
 
MSF surgical team leaves for Manila in preparation for typhoon Hagupit
Philippines

MSF teams are preparing for typhoon Hagupit

Crisis Update 5 Dec 2014
 
Philippines Deltawood Hospital 2014
Philippines

Innovative materials and a new beginning: MSF’s interim hospital on the Philippines typhoon shore

Project Update 11 Aug 2014