Issued by: Department of Health
The spotlight will be on TB this week (19 - 21 August 1999) as the Department of Health, International TB experts from the World Health Organisation, United States’ Centres for Disease Control, World Bank and representatives from 11 African countries will hold a conference in Centurion Lake Hotel to discuss the way forward in gaining global political leadership onTB.
Eleven countries meeting in South Africa are part of the 22 countries identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as responsible for the highest burden of TB in the world and or HIV related TB. The conference is part of a global campaign launched by the WHO called the "Stop TB Initiative" to create public demand for action against TB.
TB is an old disease and has been curable for decades yet research shows that TB cases continue to escalate and TB remains the biggest killer of adults in Africa. This is mainly because of poor management of TB and poor follow up of patients until they are cured. This shows that the TB epidemic is not a medical problem but a political and a socio-economic one. Therefore, the Stop TB Initiative aims to push TB control higher in the international political agenda, expand international partners working against TB and set the stage for increased investment in controlling TB.
South Africa will be participating in this initiative as TB is regarded as a priority and the country faces one of the worst TB epidemics in the world. As all the eleven countries participating have adopted the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) strategy to control TB, better DOTS implementation strategies will also be discussed.
The South African Director-General of Health Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba, will open the conference on Thursday 19 August 1999. Representatives from high TB burden countries together with international TB experts will spend two and a half days engaging in country level planning to accelerate progress in TB control in their own countries. The results of this meeting will set the scene for a follow up meeting for Health Ministers which will be held in the Netherlands to encourage the 22 high TB burden countries to enhance ownership for TB control.
17 August 1999