Government will on Friday launch the TB Prevention Campaign with Amakhosi and TB Ambassadors.
The campaign, which will be unveiled by Deputy President David Mabuza, seeks to mobilise Amakhosi and TB Ambassadors to join the national effort of rapidly finding the missing TB patients and urgently linking them to treatment and care.
The Presidency said this initiative is in line with a commitment made by Heads of State and Government in the first ever High-Level Meeting on TB that took place in September at the United Nations.
In that meeting, the Heads of State and Government took a decision that countries must collectively trace four million people infected with TB but not on treatment.
Each country has its share of the missing four million and South Africa’s share is 160 000.
“In South Africa, approximately 15-20% of all TB reported cases are children, and it is among the top five underlying causes of death in children under 5 years of age. KwaZulu-Natal has the greatest TB and HIV burden in the country,” the Presidency said.
As a response, South Africa has decided to trace and find at least 80 000 by December 2020 as part of its national efforts.
The Deputy President, who is also the Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), will launch the campaign at the Qadi Traditional Council in Inanda, eThekwini.
The campaign will be a build-up to the national World TB Day commemoration, which will be held in March in the Eastern Cape.
The World TB Day this year will be commemorated under the theme: ‘It’s time! for Religious Leaders, Parliamentarians and Legislators to lead the fight to end TB in South Africa. – SAnews.gov.za
