24 March
World TB Day is designed to build public awareness that tuberculosis (TB) remains an epidemic in much of the world, causing the deaths of several million people each year, mostly in the third world.
TB Day on 24 March commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. At the time of Koch's announcement in Berlin, TB was raging through Europe and the Americas, causing the death of one out of every seven people. Koch's discovery opened the way toward diagnosing and curing tuberculosis.
TB is still a major problem in South Africa, but it can be cured, provided you get treatment.
Deputy President David Mabuza in his capacity as the Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), will lead the official commemoration of World TB Day on 24 March 2022 in Barkley West, near Kimberley in the Northern Cape.
This year’s theme for World TB Day is ‘Invest in Action to End TB NOW! Get Screened. End Stigma. Save Lives.’ This is a clarion call to every South African to invest in various actions to contribute towards the national effort to end TB.
The theme is aligned to the Global Theme, Invest to End TB. Save Lives, a call to world leaders to ensure that sufficient resources are made available for the TB response.
