Infectious disease

The Philippines presents a complicated case of tuberculosis. With its colonial past and high burden of TB, the disease that has plagued the country for a long time. TB is still considered endemic in Southeast Asia, and the Philippines ranks high among countries that are seriously affected by this disease, even with the World Health Organization and multiple other health organisations – both national and international – trying to find a way forward. What are the reasons for this? This chapter aims to unpack the complicated case of TB in this national context. It shows that social, socio-economic, and environmental factors play a significant role in TB transmission and development of active TB, but have often been neglected in public health policy. It is not the goal of this chapter to provide a solution but to examine the complexities of this diverse island country to examine how historical understanding can help policy-making.