I was expecting an invitation from Manila to write a felicitation note on the occasion of Dr.Tupasi' s 80 th birthday celebration that was anticipated for 2020. The news of her demise last week therefore came as a very rude shock, and set in motion a train of thought spanning 25 years.
I had first met Dr.Tupasi in 1995 when I came to Manila as a WHO consultant in the context of planning for a Philippines National TB Prevalence Survey.Our association was renewed two years later for the analysis and interpretation of the survey data.I enjoyed working with her immensely because of her profound knowledge of tuberculosis, indefatigable industry, speed of decisive action and qualities of team leadership that virtually created an aura around her.She had a pragmatic approach to data analysis and often supplemented my theoretical statistical methodology with her down - to - earth clinical approach.
The National Prevalence Survey of 1995 was repeated by her team in 2005, and the findings became an overnight sensation;this is because they demonstrated a 30% reduction in sputum - positive PTB following 10 years of country - wide implementation of DOTS, despite the increasing poverty in the population. So important and heartening was this conclusion for global TB policy that WHO chose to get a prestigious agency like the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to independently review all aspects of the survey(design, conduct and analysis), and this exercise reaffirmed in toto the inferences drawn by Tupasi and her colleagues.In my long research career of four decades, I cannot recall such a situation.That really was a very big feather in Dr.Tupasi’ s cap.
Undertaking national surveys of tuberculosis in a country like the Philippines with its difficult geographic terrain and weather vagaries is a tough assignment, which was rendered all the more difficult by the fact that most of the staff were recruited specifically for the project and therefore not experienced old hands. But Tupasi was the type of person for whom a difficult task was one to be completed immediately, and an impossible task was one that would take just a wee bit longer!
Her first name THELMA may be regarded as an acronym, with:
T standing for Teamwork,
H standing for Hard Labour,
E standing for Evangelical fervour(to control TB),
L for Love of fellow - workers,
M for Myriad of hypotheses to explain study findings, and
A for Alacrity and Attitude.
Her loss is irreparable.She will be missed by many people--immediate family members, extended TDF family and a horde of admirers like me. I wish that the Good Lord gives us all courage to face this loss and hope that her soul rests in eternal peace.
I hope that her attitude and approach to life and TB research, and her perseverance trait will inspire many future generations of young TB research workers in the Philippines and elsewhere.
Amen.