I. STRATEGIES FOR SCREENING

DESCRIPTION OF STRATEGIES, PERFORMANCE TARGETS AND KEY ACTIVITIES

The updated PhilSTEP1 has identified 14 major strategies to achieve the results listed in the previous section (Goals, Objectives, Strategies). These are organized below according to the four major thematic areas of the cascade of care: 1) screening; 2) testing and diagnosis; 3) treatment; and 4) prevention. A brief description of the strategy is provided, followed by the performance target and specific key activities.

Annex 3 shows the timelines of key activities of the strategy. Annex 4 shows the monitoring and evaluation matrix with annual targets, when applicable, for impact, outcome and output indicators.

I. STRATEGIES FOR SCREENING

A priority for 2020–2023 is wide-scale implementation of systematic screening in various settings – in health facilities, communities and high-risk settings. Passive case finding is estimated to account for majority of TB cases currently detected. But to increase number of TB cases notified by up to 40 000 annually, massive screening will be required beyond passive case finding. The use of chest X-rays as screening tool is a major part of the overall screening strategy, with about one-third of the target for screening to be conducted through chest X-rays. The target outcomes for screening are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Main targets for screening, updated PhilSTEP1 2020–2023

2020 2021 2022 2023

Number screened by chest X-ray 8 390 000 10 770 000 13 790 000 17 060 000

Population (chest X-ray) Screening rate* 8% 10% 14% 17%

*Number screened by chest X-ray/population