The government plans to improve staff and management of tuberculosis (TB) services and to improve access to laboratory services where it is poor.
This forms part of the TB crisis plan launched by Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Friday, World Tuberculosis Day, at Durban’s King George V hospital.
”The plan that we have devised tackles some fundamental shortcomings in our TB control system that have undermined our best efforts to get to grips with this disease,” said Tshabalala-Msimang. ”At the same time, the plan allows us to prioritise some well-targeted, highly focused interventions that will achieve significant results within this year.”
The plan is also to mobilise local TB action teams to create high levels of public awareness of the disease and generate a climate of social concern.
”This grassroots communication will be accompanied by mass-media information campaigns,” she said.
The plan envisages increased resources for TB management from existing health budgets, foreign funding and the private sector.
The plan will be driven through a project-management approach, with dedicated managers at national and provincial level, Tshabalala-Msimang said.
The more focused interventions will be concentrated on particular geographic areas.
”According to figures produced by the National TB Control Programme, four provinces — KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Western Cape — account for almost 80% of the country’s TB burden.
”The metropolitan areas of eThekwini, Nelson Mandela metro, Amathole [district municipality] and Johannesburg have especially large case loads and they have been selected for priority action.” — Sapa