BuaNews (Tshwane)
Gabi Khumalo
31 October 2008
Johannesburg — The Department of Health will over the next two months traverse the country in a public campaign to raise awareness and educate communities about Tuberculosis (TB) and how to combat it.
The TB public campaign was launched by Health Minister Barbara Hogan at the Tembisa Plaza in Johannesburg on Friday.
The launch, attended by Gauteng Health MEC Brian Hlongwa and Erkuhuleni councillors, is in line with the commitment the minister made shortly after her appointment in September to fight HIV and AIDS and TB.
The programme was made possible through a partnership between the Health Department and TB Free, a non-profit organisation, which aims to communicate and educate communities on the disease, how it spreads, treatment and prevention, in their preferred languages.
During the roadshows, an industrial theatre will be used to convey the message on TB through stage plays, dancing, billboards and radio advertising. The Department's Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) will also be on site to answer questions and provide TB testing.
The campaign will emphasize that the disease is curable.
Speaking at the launch, Ms Hogan urged communities to get tested and stay on treatment if they are diagnosed until the disease was cured.
She said communities could help government by ensuring their family or friends keep on taking their medication.
"You need not to worry, TB is curable and once you complete your treatment, you are cured for the rest of your life. The longer you wait to get treatment, the more difficult it becomes to treat it," the minister said.
She said in an attempt to trace the defaulters, the department had formed defaulter tracer teams, who trace defaulters and bring them back to centres to complete treatment.
TB Free Director Thulani Sojola urged communities to attend the roadshows.
"TB is curable and TB Free is committed to contribute meaningfully to the reduction of TB morbidity and mortality in South Africa by educating all citizens to understand the disease, its signs and symptoms and the testing and treatment procedures," Mr Sojola said
After the launch of the roadshows, Ms Hogan visited Tembisa Hospital as part of her visits to state hospitals to assess their conditions and how the department can help.
Speaking to BuaNews at the hospital, Minister Hogan said the challenges she had identified at the hospital were the lack of resources and the failure to phase in the hospital revitalization programme.
"It is important to get on the ground; when one visits these institutions, one can learn a lot. The hospital has a good reputation and high staff morale," she told BuaNews.
Regarding the response on how to address the challenges in the hospital, Minister Hogan said she did not believe in quick-fixes, adding that she would first have to study all the issues facing them.
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