Mildred Fernando lives and works in the Philippines for the USAID [5]-funded, MSH-led, Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program [6]. Mildred spoke at several World TB Day events in Washington, DC, including at a senate briefing and an event honoring TB survivors and advocates (watch video). [7] The interview below first appeared on the SIAPS blog [8].

It all began in November 2001 for Mildred Fernando when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), a preventable and curable disease which caused the death of 1.4 million people in 2011 [9]. She was only 19 years old, working on completing her last semester in college when she contracted TB from her father who sadly succumbed to it two years later.