at the launch of Gauteng Provincial TB Crisis Management Plan, Soweto
4 August 2006
Programme Director
My colleague MEC for Health
Mayor of Johannesburg
All councillors present
Government officials
And community of Soweto
It is a great pleasure to join you in launching the Gauteng Provincial TB
Crisis Management Plan. I would like to take this opportunity to give a context
within which this plan is being launched.
African Health Ministers at the World Health Organisation (WHO)-Afro
regional committee meeting in Maputo in last year resolved to declare TB an
emergency. The WHO-Afro member states were urged to implement, with immediate
effect, emergency TB control strategies and plans aimed at improving TB
detection and treatment success rate, and reduce patient default rates.
South Africa participated actively in the development of this resolution.
This is because we understand that TB is a major problem perpetrated by
conditions of poverty, poor nutrition and inadequate housing that still affect
particularly the historically disadvantaged sections of our society.
Tuberculosis is a major problem in our country. We had about 300 000 people
suffering from the disease last year.
The most affected provinces are Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and
Western Cape which contribute about 80% of the total TB burden in the country.
In addition to bigger population that makes up these provinces, major factors
affecting incidents of TB are:
* lack of TB awareness and late detection of patients
* lack of awareness about necessity to complete treatment
* increasing number of patients with multi-drug resistant TB
* migration of patients
* inadequate coverage of Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (DOTS)
* inadequate financial and human resource support for the TB control
programme
* poor access to laboratory
Failure to complete TB treatment in particular poses a major challenge.
Government spends R400 for treating every patient with ordinary TB. When these
patients defaults treatment and develop a multi-drug resistant TB, the cost of
treatment dramatically increases to R24 000 which includes hospitalisation and
more expensive drugs.
In our determination to reverse this situation, we have developed the
National TB Crisis Management Plan which we are launched during the World TB
Day (24 March).
The TB Plan identifies four districts with high number of TB cases and low
cure rates. These districts are Amatole and Nelson Mandela Metro pole in the
Eastern Cape, City of Johannesburg and eThekwini Metro. We have also selected
KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape as two provincial focus areas for the enhanced
interventions against TB.
The key elements of the plan focus on strengthening of TB service delivery
systems and processes and an intensive communication and social mobilisation
campaign.
Our goal is to ensure that every TB patient is detected and supported during
the entire period of at least six months whilst on TB treatment to ensure that
they get cured.
As government, we are committed to mobilising the necessary resources which
amounts to R36 million to ensure that the TB Crisis Management Plan is
successfully implemented and we reverse the tide of TB in the country.
We want to ensure that all South Africans understand the challenge of TB and
at least know the symptoms of the disease. These include:
* coughing for more than weeks
* sweating at night
* loss of weight
* loss of appetite and tiredness.
We are here today to call our community into action. Any person who shows
these symptoms should visit the nearest clinics to get checked. If you get
diagnosed with TB, please take and complete you treatment even if you are
feeling better. All of us should encourage people with symptoms to seek medical
advice. Let us support people with TB to complete their six-month
treatment.
Some of the people who are best equipped to relay these messages are our
community leaders, those who live among us and are trusted because of their
good work. In implementing this TB Plan, we will be looking for champions
amongst our ward committees, our women's organisations, our teachers and
religious leaders, traditional health practitioners, youth groups, trade unions
and business people.
We are relying on these leaders to raise awareness about TB amongst our
communities, to influence people's attitudes and to motivate people to take a
step towards good health.
I would like to say thank you to each and every person gathered in this
church which was a rallying point during our fight for freedom.
Thank you for making TB your business.
Thank you for taking the first step towards becoming TB activists.
I thank you all.
Issued by: Department of Health
4 August 2006
