TB activists call day of action for government to make TB a national health crisis

More than 600 TB activists from Gauteng will take to the streets on March 20 to call on the South African government to make TB a national health crisis and give it the attention it deserves. 

The advocates from the TB Accountability Consortium and the Treatment Action Campaign among others will march to the National Department of Health in Tshwane where they will hand over a memorandum to National TB Programme principals within the department. The march starts at the Heartfelt Arena in Tshwane (Pretoria) adjacent to 1 Military Hospital at 11am and marchers descend on the National Department of Health by 12 noon. 

TB remains a massive problem in South Africa with upwards of 50 000 people dying of TB annually despite the fact that it is preventable and treatable. To date TB remains the number one killer in the country. But the South African government has failed to take TB seriously and to allocate the necessary resources to help manage the disease. 

The day of action takes place in TB Awareness Month with World TB Day being marked on March 24. The theme for this year’s commemoration is Yes! You and I Can End TB. TB Accountability Consortium project officer Sihle Mahonga Ndawonde says: “It’s time for the government to heed calls that TB is a crisis! We cannot have 50 000 people dying of TB each year. The government has a brilliant plan for TB but it is not implementing this correctly and there is no oversight to ensure that people are getting the help they need. We want the government to take action now.” 

The TB Accountability Consortium is a grouping of organisations working towards improving South Africa’s TB response by encouraging accountability around TB outcomes. It includes the Rural Health Advocacy Project, the  Civil Society Forum of the SA National Aids Council, TB Proof, TB Hiv Care and the Treatment Action Campaign. 

For more information call: RHAP Communications Officer Palesa Chidi on 078 625 0511 or via email on tchidi@rhap.org.za