What’s John Green doing in the Philippines?
The acclaimed author, best known for young adult novels like The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns (and for his widely successful YouTube channel, Crash Course, and for his modestly successful vlogging career with his brother, Hank Green), was recently seen in the island province of Guivaras.
In a Facebook post by events planner John Calopez, Green can be seen speaking at an intimate event in support of the TB-Free Guimaras Island Initiative. Recently, the Western Visayas province has been pushing to become the country’s first tuberculosis-free island. At a media conference held earlier this Month, the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. emphasized that it is working on an initiative to declare Guimaras tuberculosis-free within the next four to five years.
It’s not surprising that Green is in town for a tuberculosis-related event. The author has long been a strong supporter of tuberculosis eradication efforts. His latest work of nonfiction, Everything is Tuberculosis, explores the socio-political and scientific histories of the world’s deadliest disease while finding the humanity in it through the present-day story of Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient Green met during a hospital visit in Sierra Leone. In the years since meeting Henry, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to testing and treatment of the disease. At the event held in Guimaras, Green was seen signing copies of his book for attendees.
