Government‚ religious leaders join forces to fight scourge of TB

TIMESLIVE

A health care professional tests the sputum of Tuberculosis patients in a laboratory. File Photo
Image by: Yawar Nazir/Getty Images / Getty Images

In the run up to the International AIDS Conference‚ taking place in Durban this week‚ Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi‚ on Sunday launched the National Coalition against TB at the Ethekwini Community Church in the city.

The National Coalition against TB is a partnership between the National Department of Health‚ the South African National Tuberculosis Association (SANTA)‚ Red Cross and the National Religious Association for Social Development (NRASD) aimed at alleviating South Africa’s TB plight.

The coalition will be expanded to include any entity that shares its vision‚ goal and objectives‚ the partners in the initiative said.

South Africa has the highest TB prevalence (adjusted for population) among the 22 high burden countries that contribute approximately 80% of the total global TB burden. According to Statistics South Africa‚ TB is the number one underlying cause of death in South Africa‚ especially among people living with HIV.

Addressing delegates attending the launch on Sunday‚ Motsoaledi pointed out that TB has overtaken Aids as the biggest killer among infectious diseases in South Africa. Figures indicate that over 40‚500 people died from TB in 2013 alone. KwaZulu-Natal‚ together with the Eastern Cape‚ Gauteng‚ and the Western Cape – collectively carry more than 70% of South Africa's TB burden.

Motsoaledi said that the control and management of TB remained a priority for the government‚ especially in view of the national goal of having zero infections‚ death‚ stigma and discrimination from TB and HIV by 2032‚ as espoused in the National Strategic Plan for HIV‚ TB and STIs.

He added that over the years‚ the South African government had put in place a number of initiatives aimed at combating the spread of TB. One being a massive screening campaign launched by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa a year ago.

In addition to launching the screening campaign‚ South Africa had started the rollout of the new multi-drug resistant TB medicines Bedaqualine and 63% of global patients on treatment were in South Africa. Furthermore‚ South Africa’s treatment success for drug sensitive TB had reached 82% compared with 67% in 2009 while 60% of all people on isoniazid preventive therapy in the world were in South Africa.

The minister also launched new apps on TB treatment and infection control guidelines. This increases access to all South Africans to receive TB appropriate information from the palm of their hands‚ using cellphones and other electronic devices.

“We have‚ indeed‚ made great strides in the fight against TB but it goes without saying that a lot more still needs to be done if we are to meet our target of having zero infections‚ death‚ stigma and discrimination from TB and HIV by 2032‚” Motsoaledi said.

To fight this disease‚ he said that South Africa must make use of all opportunities to raise awareness‚ educate and mobilise communities‚ particularly in areas that were most vulnerable to TB.

Urging every person in the country to get screened for TB‚ Motsoaledi said it was estimated that each year‚ globally‚ three million TB sufferers remained untested and untreated‚ and each one of these posed a threat of infesting 15 other people.