THE COMMISSION on Higher Education has integrated lessons on Neglected Tropical Diseases in the curricula of Medicine, Nursing, Medical Technology, Midwifery, and Physical Therapy courses.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III  signed a memorandum of agreement on this initiative.

Through the agreement, interns will be provided an initial understanding of the different NTDs of public health importance in the country in preparation for their encounters on actual cases and dynamic scenarios in the community.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than a billion people around the world suffer from NTDs in a lifetime. They are neglected because they often occur among those living in remote rural areas, urban slums or conflict zones, who have little access to adequate healthcare.

In the Philippines, common NTDs include Lymphatic Filariasis, Schistosomiasis, Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis, Leprosy, Rabies and Foodborne Trematodiasis.

”I believe that this undertaking will intensify the areas for linkage between the CHED and DOH, especially in these times that the healthcare delivery system is in a very challenging situation,” De Vera said.

“We cannot do it alone. We are grateful to the Commission on Higher Education for sharing the vision and the mandate to reach out to the marginalized, those left behind. Education, ending the neglect of NTDs through Universal Health Care addresses the common purpose of poverty alleviation and development. We will ensure that the right structure is in place to operate and navigate the last years of the NTD Roadmap towards elimination to finish what we have started,” Duque said.

A Joint Working Committee will be formed to provide policy and technical guidance to the integration, which will be pioneered in strategic areas and state universities where there is evidence of the burden of NTDs.

This will be scaled up to public and private schools around the country for sustainability.

“We will all get there. We already have the necessary tools to improve the training of our health professionals. Health and Education are drivers of change through a government that values ‘Pagbabago, Kaunlaran, Malasakit’,” De Vera said.