BRICS TB Research Network Innovation Summit, Maharani Hotel, Durban, South Africa, 11th To 14th December 2023
Deputy Minister’s remarks at the Opening Plenary on 11th December 2023
Programme Director;
Honourable Nomagugu Simelane, MEC for Health in the KwaZulu-Natal Province;
Mr Mxolisi Kaunda, the Executive Mayor of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality;
Your Excellencies;
Dr Owen Kaluwa, Country Representative of the World Health Organisation;
BRICS leaders of delegations and BRICS delegates;
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is with great honour for me to welcome you all to Durban, South Africa on the occasion of the BRICS TB Research Network Innovation Summit, as per the decision of the 13th BRICS Health Ministers meeting here in Durban in August 2023. Whilst Durban is known as South Africa’s playground, our summit deliberations over the next three days and the network meeting on the fourth day has a serious focus on TB that affects considerable numbers of our people within BRICS. This is the last major activity within BRICS before the handover to Russia for 2024.
The BRICS nations carry a disproportionate burden of drug susceptible and drug resistant TB infection and neglected diseases of the South. To address this substantive public health threat, the BRICS TB Research Network was established in September 2017 with the aim of bringing together TB programme managers and scientists from BRICS countries to seek ways and means to exchange information, know-how, and importantly to formulate redress strategies and solutions. The ultimate goal of this endeavour was to establish collaborative research programmes aimed at developing new diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines for TB. The TB control programmes from the various representative countries also undertook to learn from each other on key aspects of financing and strengthening the health systems in their respective nations.
TB remains a pressing concern for South Africa, as it does for all BRICS countries and many nations. Approximately 300,000 people are estimated to get TB every year in South Africa. Last year alone, we managed to notify and put 224,000 people on TB treatment regime. Although our infection incidence is declining, we are concerned about the unacceptable death rate among our TB patients. A major driver of our TB infection is HIV - 48 % of our TB patients were people living with HIV in 2022. Our National Strategic Plan addresses both HIV and TB. Our large antiretroviral programme has led to a decrease in TB incidence. We are proud of this progress and treatment coverage.
Following the negative impact of COVID-19 on public health programmes, South Africa developed a TB Recovery Plan through involvement by all stakeholders, particularly Civil Society. This plan’s aim is finding missing people with TB and linking them to care. Advocacy and communication are aimed at creating demand for TB testing. TB prevention and improvement of data systems are also prioritised. Given our high HIV-TB co-morbidity let me give our delegates some data on HIV in South Africa.
The Sixth South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, and Behaviour survey showed that among people aged 15 years and older living with HIV in South Africa in 2022, 90% were aware of their status, 91% of those aware of their status were on antiretroviral treatment, and 94% of those on antiretroviral treatment were virally suppressed. Thus, South Africa has made significant progress toward the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets – namely, that by 2025, 95% of all people living with HIV to be aware of their HIV status, 95% of those aware of their status to be on antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of those on antiretroviral treatment who also know that that they are living with HIV to achieve viral load suppression.
This is an improvement compared to 2017 when the UNAIDS target was 90-90-90 but South Africa achieved 85%-71%-87%. The large uptake of treatment can be attributed to the changes in treatment guidelines in 2016, which made provision for treatment to be given to everyone requiring HIV treatment immediately regardless of their clinical status, which previously needed to include a CD4 count below 500 cells/mm3.
South Africa has been at the forefront of introducing and scaling up new tools for diagnosis and shorter treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB. However, there is a need to do more to improve linkage to care and retention in care.
The site visits to CAPRISA and AHRI on the fourth day will highlight some of the research work we are doing on TB and the visit to King Dinuzulu Hospital will showcase our service delivery efforts for patients with TB.
We have made significant strides in our journey as BRICS countries since the establishment of this network, with progress and some challenges. Our countries actively participated in discussions and negotiations building up to the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on TB, in New York, in September this year. The commitments and proposed action outlined in the Declaration of that meeting are well aligned with the goals and objectives of the BRICS TB Research Network.
We should therefore work very hard to ensure that we meet the targets we have set ourselves for this Summit, in the form of the following outcomes:
- Two or three new innovations in therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines that the Network can prioritize for collaboration, investment and development
- A roadmap and milestones to achieve the above
- A funding strategy to support the research activities of the Network
A world without TB is not just an aspiration but an attainable reality, and we should stand ready to play our part in making that vision a shared triumph. I certainly believe that this network can make a significant contribution to this end. Let us recommit to the implementation of the Political Declaration on TB as we map out of future endeavour of ending TB in BRICS countries. The goal to end TB is within our grasp. Our collective efforts must transcend borders, ideologies, and individual interests.
It will be amiss of me, not to congratulate Russia as it takes over the baton of leadership of BRICS in 2024. I am sure I am joined by all in the room to wish Russia a productive, fruitful, and progressive tenure of chairing BRICS. We also look forward to welcoming the new BRICS country partners as part of the BRICS Plus family.
I wish you a successful meeting and impactful deliberations to deepen the collaboration and take away the messages of this Summit to other platforms and spread the objective of ending TB.
Many thanks for your audience!
