Date: 24/03/2003
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: Tshabalala-Msimang: World TB Day
SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR MANTO TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, DURING THE WORLD TB DAY, Port Elizabeth, 24 March 2003
Greetings,
We are gathered here today joining the international community in observing the World TB Day. For us as South Africans, this day marks the start of a major campaign aimed at responding to the major challenge of TB facing us.
It is also a culmination of a series of recent events both in our country and across the world, all aimed at highlighting the fact that tuberculosis can be cured. It has been treatable for the past 50 years, yet it remains one of our greatest health and socio-economic challenges.
Tuberculosis is the leading killer disease in our society. We are number nine amongst the 22 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world. But as a country, we are launching an equally strong response to the challenge of TB. We are taking all necessary actions to ensure that we reverse this situation. We have developed a national plan with clear goals and targets and we are determined to meet these targets. That is why we are gathered here in Port Elizabeth today.
The message we are sending to our people is that tuberculosis can be prevented, it can be treated, and free tuberculosis testing and treatment is available at all public health clinics.
This successful event is a demonstration of our government's determination to fighting TB and commitment to reach our targets for TB control. In line with the global call to stop TB, we are stepping up the pace to increase the detection rate of cases of tuberculosis to 70% by the year 2005 and to raise the cure rate of those detected cases to 85%.
In order to reach these goals, we are today launching the Tuberculosis Social Mobilisation and Advocacy Campaign for 2003 -2005. We should be proud that while there are many countries in the world that are faced with a similar challenge, we are the first country to launch a campaign of this nature.
This is a comprehensive communication campaign that will include a series of events to raise the profile of TB and build partnerships at all levels of our society. It will ensure that all South Africans know the symptoms of TB, understand that it is curable, recognise the importance of treatment compliance and combat the stigma and fear that surround the disease.
The campaign is built on the understanding that we have been able to meet some of the challenges relating to the control of TB. As a country, we have ensured that TB patients have access to testing and treatment. These services are free and widely available.
Our focus now with this campaign is on informing every single South African about the three cornerstones of TB control efforts:
* Firstly, the symptoms: Should you cough for longer than two weeks, have an unexplained loss of weight and bad night sweats, you may have tuberculosis;
* The second step is to take action: Instead of ignoring these symptoms, feeling shy or embarrassed, you must visit the nearest clinic and get tested for TB;
* Lastly, if your TB test is positive, you must take and complete the prescribed tuberculosis treatment. You will get it free of charge.
The two central elements of this campaign are INFORMATION and ACTION. We need to know about TB and take action to stop it because we can. That's why the theme for this year's World TB Day is "STOP TB - Because I can".
Another important element of TB control is partnerships. We are delighted that due to other partners adding their voice to this cause, we are now elevating the profile of TB. Over the last month, we have seen international and local partners joining hands with government in an effort to stop TB and its needless deaths.
The cricket fraternity pledged to use their popularity and visibility to help us in reaching patients and potential supporters in South Africa and across our borders. Globally, the assistance rendered by the Stop TB Partnership provides a framework that guides a response to TB in many countries, including South Africa.
USAID has also assisted in the production of a heart-wrenching documentary about TB, which was screened on SABC last week. I would also like to thank the media in general for the support rendered to our efforts against TB and to request your continued support as we move towards meeting the targets for 2005.
There are two main challenges that we need to address in our efforts to meet these targets. Firstly is the low level of detection of TB cases. A person with active tuberculosis and who is not on treatment can infect up to 15 people within a short space of time. But within weeks, if not days after beginning the treatment, a person with TB can no longer infect others.
Therefore, getting tested and taking medication is not only for your own benefit, it also protects those around you from getting infected with TB including your children. Children do not cough up and therefore they do not infect each other with TB, but they get it from adults. So get treated and protect children around you.
The other obstacle is failure to complete treatment. It is important to make sure that even when you are feeling better; you continue taking your tablets until you finish the course in order to kill the bacteria that cause this disease. If these bacteria are not killed because you have stopped taking your medicine, it will come back being much stronger than it was before and may not be killed by ordinary tablets that we use for TB. This is called Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB.
Ordinary TB treatment costs about R400 and in most cases it does not require hospitalisation. Because most often MDR TB patients have to be in hospital for about two months and they take more expensive drugs, the total treatment cost, including hospitalisation, runs up to more than R20 000 per patient. If everyone can complete Treatment, the R20 000 we use for every MDR TB patients can be channelled to addressing other health problems facing us.
Our goal is to ensure that no more than 5% of patients fail to complete their treatment.
That is why we are emphasising the importance of DOTS supporters. DOTS stands for "Direct Observation Treatment Short-course" and its significance is in the fact that TB patients are encouraged by others - friends, family or anyone who is free of TB - to take their medication and complete the prescribed treatment course.
Successfully treated patients play a significant role in this regard. They are the best ambassadors for effective TB control. When they share their success stories with communities, neighbours, other TB patients, they encourage other potential TB patients to go for testing and get treated. In addition, cured patients understand the difficulties of completing prescribed treatment and can assist other patients through this process. We therefore urge all cured patients to become DOTS supporters - and help other patients to take their treatment every day.
As you all consider our request for you to provide support for TB patients do not be deterred by a thought that this must be a full-time occupation and that your normal daily activities cannot allow you to commit time to fighting TB. If each one of us can give a moment a day to check whether a TB patient has taken his or her tables - we will achieve our goal.
Hunger and poor nutrition provide fertile ground for the spread of TB and have an impact in increasing treatment interruption rate. TB spreads in areas where there is poverty, bad living conditions and overcrowding. When it started in South Africa, it affected mainly the poor white miners because of the bad conditions they lived in. The social conditions of those miners improved and TB moved on to affect those who were being plunged down into poverty by apartheid - being denied jobs, housing and other basic services.
The truth is that when a patient has nothing to eat, it is difficult for him or her to take a large number of tablets for up to six months as required in standard TB treatment. In responding to the negative effects of poor nutrition on health we are working on a nutritional programme for people with TB, HIV and AIDS and other debilitating conditions.
We have requested the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and UNAIDS to come and assist us in formulating this nutrition programme. We are consulting with local and international experts in establishing a programme that is informed by both global experience and existing conditions in our country and is based mainly on foodstuff that is available and affordable to most of our people.
Government is applying a holistic approach to poverty alleviation including provision of various social services, support income generating activities amongst communities and encouraging economic growth that results in employment opportunities.
Programme director, the campaign we are launching today also aims to increase the resources devoted to fighting TB. We know that TB control efforts cannot be effective and successful without the investment of necessary resources. As government, we are strengthening our TB control programme by ensuring that there is sufficient funding is available for our TB control programmes at all levels.
We have also been able to secure more resources outside of our own budget. More than R8, 4 million will be made available by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria for our TB/HIV initiative over a period of two years.
This allocation will be used to address the problem of HIV/TB co-infection. About 50% of TB patients are believed to be HIV positive and TB is the most common opportunistic infection amongst people living with HIV and AIDS. Therefore, prevention, early detection and treatment of TB amongst people living with HIV and AIDS will result in decreased numbers of people dying of TB.
You should know that even in the presence of HIV, TB can be cured. If you get TB while you are HIV positive, come to our clinics we will treat you.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all of you for demonstrating your commitment to fight TB by joining us today. This even t might be taking place here in Port Elizabeth, but its importance as a major step in our TB control efforts is understood throughout South Africa - and across the globe.
I would like to encourage you to continue supporting the efforts to stop TB. There are simple things you can do. You can contribute by:
Telling those close to you about the symptoms of TB, which are a cough that lasts for more than two weeks, night sweats and an unexplained weight loss.
Advise those who show these symptoms to visit the nearest clinic and get tested.
Tell them that TB testing and treatment is free.
Assist them to take and complete their treatment. Most importantly, tell everybody that TB is curable!
Thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Health
24 March 2003
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: Tshabalala-Msimang: World TB Day
SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR MANTO TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, DURING THE WORLD TB DAY, Port Elizabeth, 24 March 2003
Greetings,
We are gathered here today joining the international community in observing the World TB Day. For us as South Africans, this day marks the start of a major campaign aimed at responding to the major challenge of TB facing us.
It is also a culmination of a series of recent events both in our country and across the world, all aimed at highlighting the fact that tuberculosis can be cured. It has been treatable for the past 50 years, yet it remains one of our greatest health and socio-economic challenges.
Tuberculosis is the leading killer disease in our society. We are number nine amongst the 22 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world. But as a country, we are launching an equally strong response to the challenge of TB. We are taking all necessary actions to ensure that we reverse this situation. We have developed a national plan with clear goals and targets and we are determined to meet these targets. That is why we are gathered here in Port Elizabeth today.
The message we are sending to our people is that tuberculosis can be prevented, it can be treated, and free tuberculosis testing and treatment is available at all public health clinics.
This successful event is a demonstration of our government's determination to fighting TB and commitment to reach our targets for TB control. In line with the global call to stop TB, we are stepping up the pace to increase the detection rate of cases of tuberculosis to 70% by the year 2005 and to raise the cure rate of those detected cases to 85%.
In order to reach these goals, we are today launching the Tuberculosis Social Mobilisation and Advocacy Campaign for 2003 -2005. We should be proud that while there are many countries in the world that are faced with a similar challenge, we are the first country to launch a campaign of this nature.
This is a comprehensive communication campaign that will include a series of events to raise the profile of TB and build partnerships at all levels of our society. It will ensure that all South Africans know the symptoms of TB, understand that it is curable, recognise the importance of treatment compliance and combat the stigma and fear that surround the disease.
The campaign is built on the understanding that we have been able to meet some of the challenges relating to the control of TB. As a country, we have ensured that TB patients have access to testing and treatment. These services are free and widely available.
Our focus now with this campaign is on informing every single South African about the three cornerstones of TB control efforts:
* Firstly, the symptoms: Should you cough for longer than two weeks, have an unexplained loss of weight and bad night sweats, you may have tuberculosis;
* The second step is to take action: Instead of ignoring these symptoms, feeling shy or embarrassed, you must visit the nearest clinic and get tested for TB;
* Lastly, if your TB test is positive, you must take and complete the prescribed tuberculosis treatment. You will get it free of charge.
The two central elements of this campaign are INFORMATION and ACTION. We need to know about TB and take action to stop it because we can. That's why the theme for this year's World TB Day is "STOP TB - Because I can".
Another important element of TB control is partnerships. We are delighted that due to other partners adding their voice to this cause, we are now elevating the profile of TB. Over the last month, we have seen international and local partners joining hands with government in an effort to stop TB and its needless deaths.
The cricket fraternity pledged to use their popularity and visibility to help us in reaching patients and potential supporters in South Africa and across our borders. Globally, the assistance rendered by the Stop TB Partnership provides a framework that guides a response to TB in many countries, including South Africa.
USAID has also assisted in the production of a heart-wrenching documentary about TB, which was screened on SABC last week. I would also like to thank the media in general for the support rendered to our efforts against TB and to request your continued support as we move towards meeting the targets for 2005.
There are two main challenges that we need to address in our efforts to meet these targets. Firstly is the low level of detection of TB cases. A person with active tuberculosis and who is not on treatment can infect up to 15 people within a short space of time. But within weeks, if not days after beginning the treatment, a person with TB can no longer infect others.
Therefore, getting tested and taking medication is not only for your own benefit, it also protects those around you from getting infected with TB including your children. Children do not cough up and therefore they do not infect each other with TB, but they get it from adults. So get treated and protect children around you.
The other obstacle is failure to complete treatment. It is important to make sure that even when you are feeling better; you continue taking your tablets until you finish the course in order to kill the bacteria that cause this disease. If these bacteria are not killed because you have stopped taking your medicine, it will come back being much stronger than it was before and may not be killed by ordinary tablets that we use for TB. This is called Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB.
Ordinary TB treatment costs about R400 and in most cases it does not require hospitalisation. Because most often MDR TB patients have to be in hospital for about two months and they take more expensive drugs, the total treatment cost, including hospitalisation, runs up to more than R20 000 per patient. If everyone can complete Treatment, the R20 000 we use for every MDR TB patients can be channelled to addressing other health problems facing us.
Our goal is to ensure that no more than 5% of patients fail to complete their treatment.
That is why we are emphasising the importance of DOTS supporters. DOTS stands for "Direct Observation Treatment Short-course" and its significance is in the fact that TB patients are encouraged by others - friends, family or anyone who is free of TB - to take their medication and complete the prescribed treatment course.
Successfully treated patients play a significant role in this regard. They are the best ambassadors for effective TB control. When they share their success stories with communities, neighbours, other TB patients, they encourage other potential TB patients to go for testing and get treated. In addition, cured patients understand the difficulties of completing prescribed treatment and can assist other patients through this process. We therefore urge all cured patients to become DOTS supporters - and help other patients to take their treatment every day.
As you all consider our request for you to provide support for TB patients do not be deterred by a thought that this must be a full-time occupation and that your normal daily activities cannot allow you to commit time to fighting TB. If each one of us can give a moment a day to check whether a TB patient has taken his or her tables - we will achieve our goal.
Hunger and poor nutrition provide fertile ground for the spread of TB and have an impact in increasing treatment interruption rate. TB spreads in areas where there is poverty, bad living conditions and overcrowding. When it started in South Africa, it affected mainly the poor white miners because of the bad conditions they lived in. The social conditions of those miners improved and TB moved on to affect those who were being plunged down into poverty by apartheid - being denied jobs, housing and other basic services.
The truth is that when a patient has nothing to eat, it is difficult for him or her to take a large number of tablets for up to six months as required in standard TB treatment. In responding to the negative effects of poor nutrition on health we are working on a nutritional programme for people with TB, HIV and AIDS and other debilitating conditions.
We have requested the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and UNAIDS to come and assist us in formulating this nutrition programme. We are consulting with local and international experts in establishing a programme that is informed by both global experience and existing conditions in our country and is based mainly on foodstuff that is available and affordable to most of our people.
Government is applying a holistic approach to poverty alleviation including provision of various social services, support income generating activities amongst communities and encouraging economic growth that results in employment opportunities.
Programme director, the campaign we are launching today also aims to increase the resources devoted to fighting TB. We know that TB control efforts cannot be effective and successful without the investment of necessary resources. As government, we are strengthening our TB control programme by ensuring that there is sufficient funding is available for our TB control programmes at all levels.
We have also been able to secure more resources outside of our own budget. More than R8, 4 million will be made available by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria for our TB/HIV initiative over a period of two years.
This allocation will be used to address the problem of HIV/TB co-infection. About 50% of TB patients are believed to be HIV positive and TB is the most common opportunistic infection amongst people living with HIV and AIDS. Therefore, prevention, early detection and treatment of TB amongst people living with HIV and AIDS will result in decreased numbers of people dying of TB.
You should know that even in the presence of HIV, TB can be cured. If you get TB while you are HIV positive, come to our clinics we will treat you.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all of you for demonstrating your commitment to fight TB by joining us today. This even t might be taking place here in Port Elizabeth, but its importance as a major step in our TB control efforts is understood throughout South Africa - and across the globe.
I would like to encourage you to continue supporting the efforts to stop TB. There are simple things you can do. You can contribute by:
Telling those close to you about the symptoms of TB, which are a cough that lasts for more than two weeks, night sweats and an unexplained weight loss.
Advise those who show these symptoms to visit the nearest clinic and get tested.
Tell them that TB testing and treatment is free.
Assist them to take and complete their treatment. Most importantly, tell everybody that TB is curable!
Thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Health
24 March 2003
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