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Late last month, the Global TB Caucus hosted the Africa TB summit, which brought together parliamentarians from across the continent. The Global TB Caucus spans more than 150 countries, and brings together relevant stakeholders to work towards a world free of TB. Virtually every country on the African continent saw this opportunity to work together across borders against TB as vitally important.

However, South Africa was one of the key exceptions. While certain elected representatives were present, the South African government failed to dispatch an official delegation to the summit, resulting in zero engagement with key stakeholders, which could have resulted in improving TB response in South Africa. South Africa is looked upon as a leader in the field of TB, and our government’s non-attendance was greeted with deep disappointment – to some delegates, a snub. Worse than that, South Africa’s political will to eradicate TB was questioned.

South Africa is one of only four countries in Africa that has allowed its TB caucus to fall by the wayside, meaning that it currently has no delegates to take the lead in international engagements on the issue. Unless this is resolved quickly, South Africa will be unable to attend the 22 September UN High Level meeting on TB – another missed opportunity.

TB in the Western Cape remains a serious threat to public health. According to the Western Cape Government’s TB Dashboard, more than 52 000 cases and almost 5 000 deaths were recorded between 30 June 2022 and 30 June 2023. According to the World Health Organisation, South Africa totalled 56 000 deaths from TB in 2021. The Western Cape Government has thrown its weigh behind eradicating TB, with more than R200 million allocated for Targeted Universal TB Testing (TUTT) over the next three years, and the establishment of a dedicated Ad-Hoc Committee on TB-Related Matters in the WCPP. However, a unified response across international borders could reduce the workload, and bring our province closer to a TB-free future.

DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Health Gerrit Pretorius said: “The failure of national government to engage at these summits and meetings puts the entire country at risk of being left out of an international TB response. With the disease a daily reality for so many of our people, our seeming snub of an attempt to find common solutions on the issue represents a tragic missed opportunity. The Anglophone African TB caucus is standing by to help South Africa reform that caucus, but cannot do so unless the national government gets its act together.”

Issued by Gerrit Pretorius, MPP - DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Health