TBAC makes submissions on TB spend to government

TB was placed in the national spotlight this month when the accountability consortium met with parliamentarians.

The consortium, which has been established to improve accountability around the TB response in South Africa, has several focus areas. One of them is making sure that the TB budgets are allocated properly and spent effectively.

In line with this, the TB Accountability Consortium made its first parliamentary submission to the Standing Committee on Appropriations of the Division of Revenue Bill.

The submission highlighted why the TB Recovery Plan needed to be protected and provided for in light of the declining amount budgeted for the TB programme. It will be followed by another submission in February 2023, when the 2023 budget is tabled.

It followed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivering his mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) forecasting economic trends for the country as well as a Mid-Term Budget TB workshop which TBAC hosted. The workshop was conducted to fill the gap in civil society’s understanding of the financing of health programmes and educated stakeholders on how to add more tools in their advocacy toolbox.

The purpose of the workshop was to create a platform to review the impact of the budget on the implementation of the TB recovery plan. It also looked at what role civil society can play in realising how the TB Recovery Plan can become fully funded and protected. 

As it stands, 80% of all TB activities are funded from national revenue.