Issued by: National Department of Health
16 April 1997
"GUGULETU SHOWS ENORMOUS PROMISE OF CURBING TB SPREAD," SAYS OLIVE SHISANA
Cape Town - Minister Ebrahim Rasool of the Western Cape Province is today joined by Director-General of Health Dr Olive Shisana for the official launch of Guguletu as a new Demonstration and Training District (DTD) of the National TB Control Programme.
"We are pleased to announce the implementation of the new TB control strategy in Guguletu," said Minister Rasool this morning. "This new strategy, as shown in Guguletu, is part of a TB control plan recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), Additionally, we welcome the WHO team which has come to assess progress in this area."
In June 1996, an international expert team found that South Africa had one of the worst TB epidemics in the world, and made recommendations to the National Department of Health as to how the disease should be combatted in South Africa. Much progress has been made in the ten months since the review. This week, an international team sponsored by the WHO is visiting the country to assess this progress.
All experts agree that the creation of Demonstration and Training Districts (DTDs) is a crucial step in implementing the National TB Control Programme's new strategy, Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course, or DOTS. DTDs are now being established countrywide.
"Guguletu is a prime example of the kind of progress we hope to see around the country," said Dr Shisana this morning. "In Guguletu, the mechanisms are now in place to achieve even higher cure rates than before."
Minister Rasool noted that in creating the DTD in Guguletu, the following achievements have been made: all DOTS health workers have been trained; a new system of recording and monitoring patients is in place; patients are being followed up to ensure that they complete their treatment; turnaround times of diagnostic results will be improved; and the district is focusing on patient-centred care.
"We are prepared for a real success," said Dr Virginia Azevedo of the Cape Town Municipality. "The staff feel empowered, and positive about the new programme. Finally, we can evaluate our work and correct the problems which arise. We expect the new DOTS strategy to make a big difference in helping people to complete their treatment. I am sure that we will raise cure rates significantly in Guguletu. Our achievements will benefit not only the TB patients, but the entire community as well."
WHO consultants believe that South Africa is well on its way to effective TB Control. Dr Karel Styblo, one of the WHO consultants assessing South Africa's National TB Control Programme, said: "While there is still a long way to go before TB is controlled in the country, we applaud the efforts to date. South Africa is on the right track."
A large part of Guguletu's current success is due to the Western Cape TB Alliance Project, which provides incentives to community supervisors and has brought up cure rates in some areas by upwards of 10 percent. Other groups that are actively involved in TB control in the Western Cape include the Department of Health, the South African National TB Association (SANTA), CHASA, Rotary International, the SAIMR, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and many others.
Guguletu is one of four Demonstration and Training Districts designated in the Western Cape Province. The other three DTDs in the Western Cape are Ravensmead, Hex River Valley, and Paarl.
Note: Participants in this event at the Guguletu NY1 clinic included Dr Ebrahim Rasool, Minister of Health of the Western Cape Province; Dr Olive Shisana, Director-General of Health; Dr Karel Styblo, representing the World Health Organization; Dr Virginia Azevedo, Director of the Guguletu DOTS programme; and TB patients and treatment supporters from the local community.