TB Day event, eFolweni Township, Durban
24 March 2004
Programme Director,
MEC for Health,
Mayor of eThekwini,
Distinguished guests,
Community of eFolwini Township
Let me start by saying thank you to each and every person in this
stadium.
Thank you for being here today.
Thank you for making tuberculosis (TB) your business.
Thank you for taking the first step towards becoming a TB activist.
Hhola six
As the Department of Health we decided to make a national call to action on
this World TB Day. We are saying to you we are challenging you to join hands to
Stop TB Now!
We cannot stand back when a disease that is curable is stealing the lives of
men, women and children. We cannot waste time when this illness is spreading
among our people. We have the power to cure TB, to bring people back to good
health. All it takes is six months of taking the treatment correctly on a daily
basis.
But too many people do not know the symptoms of TB and they do not come
forward to be tested and treated of those who are diagnosed with TB, too many
do not complete their treatment and many people die because they fear this
disease.
In KwaZulu-Natal alone about 85 000 cases of TB were reported in 2004. Only
half of these people were successfully treated. This is not good - we must aim
much higher. We must cure at least 80% of our TB patients.
During the last few months we have been talking to experts around the
country and to Health departments in all provinces in order to develop a plan
to get better results in our TB control programme. The plan is now ready and we
are ready to put it into action.
There are two very important parts of the TB Crisis Management Plan that I
want to mention here today:
The one part deals with building stronger TB services, particularly in our
clinics. Every province and every health district must improve staffing of TB
services where they are short-staffed. Plans must be made to reduce the turn
around time for TB test results where this is slow. Health workers must spend
more time talking to patients about TB so that they can understand how the
treatment works. We should make our people understand the importance of
completing their treatment even when they feel better.
Failure to complete TB treatment cost a lot of money, which government can
use to provide other services. Government spends R400 for treating every
patient with normal TB. When these patients defaults treatment, they develop
what is called a multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB. Treating MDR TB dramatically
increases the cost of treatment to R24 000, which includes hospitalisation and
more expensive drugs.
The other part of the TB Crisis Management Plan deals with community action.
It is clear that many people do not understand TB.
They do not realise that TB kills when it is not treated.
They do not know that TB can be cured quite easily even if one has other
illnesses or infections.
They do not understand that treatment must continue long after people begin to
feel better.
They do not know that by having untreated TB, they are putting the health of
those close to them in danger.
Because of this misunderstanding, people have many fears and prejudices about
TB.
The challenge is to address this fear and prejudice and to get people to
know the facts about TB. 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 their good work. Our new plan will be looking for champions
amongst our ward committees, our womenâs organisations, our teachers and
religious leaders, traditional leaders, youth groups, trade unions and business
people. We are relying on these leaders to inform our communities about TB, to
influence peopleâs attitudes and to motivate people to take a step towards
treatment and good health.
In implementing the TB Crisis Management Plan, we will be focusing first on
a four districts with high number of TB cases and low cure rates. These
districts are Amatole and Nelson Mandela in Eastern Cape, the City of
Johannesburg in Gauteng and eThekwini Metro here in KwaZulu-Natal.
We are calling upon all of you to help in identifying symptoms of TB,
encourage people with symptoms to visit the nearest clinic. The symptoms of TB
include:
* Coughing for more than weeks
* Sweating at night
* Loss of weight
* Loss of appetite
* And tiredness.
You should encourage people who are on TB treatment to take their tablets
correctly and complete their treatment even when they feel better. Let us all
work together to put eThekwini on the path to better health.
The Health Department will do everything possible to improve TB services at
all clinics. But we need your help. Your first duty as a TB activist is to get
the facts on TB straight. There is information material available here today
take it, read it and share it with your families and friends.
Help Stop TB Now! If we all pull together, if we stand united, we shall stop
TB.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of health
24 March 2006
