Hundreds of Gauteng-based Tuberculosis (TB) activists marched on the streets of Pretoria this week to demand that the government declare TB a national health emergency and provide the resources to fight its spread.
This week’s march saw the advocates from the Treatment Action Campaign and the TB Accountability Consortium (TBAC) march to the national Department of Health in Pretoria to hand over a memorandum of demands to the department’s National TB Programme principals.
Over 50 000 die each year
Sihle Mahonga, the TBAC project officer, claims that although TB is preventable and treatable, it nevertheless kills more than 50 000 people in South Africa each year.
“We demand greater accountability for the budget allocations and programmatic mandate of the national Department of Health,” Mahonga said.
“We marched for the lives of 54 000 people who die annually from a treatable and preventable disease and because of the political duty stated in the constitution and National Health Act.
“Our call was for government to act swiftly so that no further deaths happen.”
TB is an infectious disease that most often affects the lungs. It spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze or spit.
Number-one killer
“To date, TB remains the number-one killer in the country. But the government has failed to take TB seriously and to allocate the necessary resources to help manage the disease.
“It is a crisis when we have the means to treat and prevent [a disease] but [there is] no clear coordination.
“Having the medicines available but yet having people dying of a treatable disease is an indictment of the government in ensuring the right to health.”
She said they want government to take action now, because despite the longer period that the disease has been around, education around it still needs improvement.
“There is still work to be done in improving education around TB. But one of the challenges faced is the multi-strain and multi-treatment pathway of a patient.
“These things are not easy to navigate and have given platforms of those infected to tell their stories about TB. It will be these stories that will change how quality of care can be improved.”
Clinical trial
Recently, it was announced that phase-three clinical trial has started to assess the efficacy of the M72/AS01E TB vaccine and the first doses were given in South Africa.
The vaccine is said to have a potential to become the first vaccine to help prevent pulmonary TB in adults.
The TBAC welcomed the issuing of the M72.
“Any method in which life-saving vaccines and therapeutics benefit those with the greatest need is acknowledged,” it said.
“We trust that this can assist with those with multi-mobidities as a worrying number of infections are due to this. We are hopeful that this is one step to end TB.”
