It’s not unusual for Filipinos to see government-led projects with public officials plastering their names and faces on it as if they funded it on their own. They brag about their accomplishments on banners and painted walls as if people should thank them for actually doing the job they were elected for. And looking around, you’d also see subpar projects that cost the public their hard-earned money and taxes.
In a Facebook post, Misamis Oriental-based doctor Harold Cagang called out the several health signage at their barangay in Gingoog City. Cagang said he doesn’t like talking about politics but as a doctor, he couldn’t help but be proactive in healthcare issues.
According to his now viral Facebook post, the project, which is meant to inform the public about proper healthcare, allegedly costs Php 50,000—a questionable amount based on how the said project looks. Cagang shared a photo of a signage near their house that notes the “6F’s of Tuberculosis”.
He questions where the barangay officials got the information written on the post which according to him is “misleading the community with very wrong information”. The 6F’s of Tuberculosis on the signange include: “Fever,” “Fawis,” “Fayat,” “Productive cough,” “Film,” and “Filipino”.
Apparently, this was just copied from a mnemonics by the Asian Medical Students’ Association which also include an infographic that further explains what each item in the mnemonic represents. Without the illustration and added information, the signage about the 6F’s of Tuberculosis is lost in translation.
In the Philippines, more than 60 people die every day due to TB. According to Dr. Gundo Weiler, a World Health Organization representative in the country, over one million Filipinos have active TB at any given point in time and 573,000 people develop TB every year, with males being affected three times more than females. With this, the Department of Health in the country is pushing a TB Elimination Plan to combat TB and make it a rare disease by 2022.
While TB is an airborne and considered a contagious disease that mainly affects a person’s lungs, TB is curable when treated properly. Contrary to popular belief, TB isn’t acquired in an instant when you’re in contact with an infected person. It would require constant and long exposure in an indoor setting for the bacteria to transmit when a patient (sputum positive) coughs and emits germs into the air. If you’re outdoors, the risk of transmission is less likely in an open and well-ventilated areas as germs are more likely to be swept away by the wind or killed by sunlight.
Having “fever,” “fawis,” “froductive cough,” and being “fayat” doesn’t necessarily mean you have TB. Consulting your doctor is still your best bet to know whether you have TB or not and what the necessary steps and precautions are in combating the disease. Providing better information about the disease and debunking myths and common misconceptions about can help more in spreading awareness and fight TB in the community.
Aside from the confusing TB mnemonics sign, Cagang also shared photos of other signage that include messages like “Eat to Learn. Learn to Eat” (which according to one commenter, was copied from an article’s headline) and “Don’t let Drugs keep you from your Dreams”.
After his post went viral online, Cagang shared an update that the signage were immediately covered in white paint.
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