President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the government must put its attention back to public health issues, ordering the Department of Health (DOH) to also prioritize the fight against other diseases aside from Covid-19.

During a meeting with DOH officials on Tuesday, Dec. 6, Marcos said the fight against public health issues such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis infections, and flu must be prioritized.

"We had a briefing with the DOH and I reminded them that although Covid is still there, we cannot forget the public health issues such as tuberculosis, HIV, flu that are constant threats to public health," Marcos said after the meeting held in Malacañang.

“Let’s start refocusing again on the general public health concerns. Siyempre Covid has not come away. still have to deal with it but let’s not deal with Covid... at the expense of all these other public health concerns,” he added.

The President, however, said the monitoring on Covid-19 continues but stressed the need to put the attention back to existing diseases even before Covid-19.

"We are continuing to monitor Covid and all its new variants but we have reminded DOH that there are other issues beyond Covid and since Covid is more or less being managed, we have to put our attention back to public health issues that existed even before Covid," he said.

During the meeting, Marcos asked DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire about the agency’s TB-DOTS program aimed at eradicating tuberculosis in the country.

According to Vergeire, tuberculosis has reemerged because of its high transmissibility, and the disease usually affects people from the lower income bracket of society.

She further said that there are a lot of multi-drug resistant cases of TB because people can still buy anti-TB medicines over the counter.

“So, for example, they have prescriptions that will be given by doctors who just need them... medicines for just one, two months, they will not finish their medicines and they become resistant,” Vergeire said, adding some patients receiving medicines from the government offer them to other people who haven’t consulted a doctor.

Vergeire said the DOH has to intensify its surveillance and monitoring as the agency loses TB patients because of internal migration.

To address present challenges, she said the DOH has partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after it donated a tool using artificial intelligence.

With regard to HIV, Vergeire said the DOH gained headway prior to Covid-19 but encountered hurdles during the pandemic because of state-imposed curbs.

Cases rose during the pandemic as a result of the restrictions, which prevented people from undergoing HIV screenings, she said.

“People were not able to go for screening, were not able to get their medicines because of the lockdowns, so what we did during the time of pandemic, we were already sending per individual or per patient their medicine through LBC,” Vergeire said.

The health official also said the DOH is working with lawmakers and with the judiciary to fight stigma and discrimination, which have been preventing people from seeking medical attention even if they’re experiencing HIV symptoms.

“So we’re working with the other sectors so that we can be able to make the services more accessible,” Vergeire said.