By: Aphelele Buqwana Men in South Africa remain disproportionately burdened by tuberculosis (TB), with studies showing that they are 70% more likely to develop TB and die from it compared to women. This alarming reality took center stage of the conversation at the Western Cape TB Summit, where community members and health experts raised concerns that men are still not being adequately reached, informed or supported in the province’s fight against TB. According to the newly launched End TB Campaign public facing dashboard by the National Department of Health, more than 4 000 men aged between 35–44 in the Western […]
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By: Aphelele Buqwana The country has taken a major step forward in the fight to end tuberculosis (TB) with the launch of the End TB Campaign public-facing dashboard, a digital platform that tracks TB testing data in near real-time across the country. The dashboard is a collaborative effort by the National Department of Health (NDoH), in partnership with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) as part of the End TB Campaign. It provides transparent and accessible data to the public. The dashboard comes after concerned effort by TBAC partners supported the SANAC […]
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By: Aphelele Buqwana Clinics, medication and health workers are all essential part of South Africa’s fight against TB. But one often-overlooked element is the lived experiences of patients and the support they receive from their communities. It is in these personal and community spaces where TB champions are stepping in, using their own TB experiences to support patients, tackle stigma and strengthen the link between clinics and the communities they serve. This month we’ve looked at champions in KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape who are navigating stigmas associated with TB to help others stay on treatment and feel supported […]
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By: Aphelele Buqwana In 2024, South Africa’s mining sector was commended for making inroads to address TB, beating a 10-year target, cutting its incidence rate nearly three-fold. But despite these significant reductions, research looking at trends in the mining sector shows that certain mining sectors are still more of a problem than others. The paper, published by a team of researchers from national institute of occupational health along with minerals council in SA, the National Department of Health and the university of British Columbia in Canada, analysed trends in the sector over seven years between 2015 and 2022 and found […]
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The TB Accountability Consortium (TBAC) recently hosted its inaugural workshop for civil society groups. The workshop brought together TB champions from across the country, mobilising them to drive progress towards ending tuberculosis. The session focused on the updated TB Recovery Plan Version 4.0, equipping community leaders with the knowledge to implement the plan and helping them understand their role in the TB advocacy ecosystem. The workshop also highlighted the importance of TB training for healthcare professionals and supportive policy, with TB champions emphasising the need for childfriendly TB medication and importance of scaling up preventive therapy, both of which are […]
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By: Aphelele Buqwana The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung disease has released a new report outlining updated evidence on TB Preventive Therapy with recommendations for how to protect close contacts of a person with drug-resistant TB. TB Preventive Therapy (TPT) is a course of medication given to people at risk of acquiring TB to protect them from getting the disease. In South Africa, the uptake of TPT remains low. This is despite it being an evidence-based intervention to treat latent TB infection and prevent it from progressing to active TB. To unpack the report in the context of South Africa, TBAC […]
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