South Africa: Drug-Resistant TB - the Distance Between

Tugela Ferry was the epicentre of a high profile and deadly outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) in 2006. Now, the rural community is pioneering new ways to treat drug-resistant TB, but patients still face a long road to treatment.

In the small village of Mbabane about 540km north of Durban, Lindelani Njoko and Mzuvela Vilakazi have a monthly ritual. At the start of each month, the pair of former farmworkers wake at 5am and meet on the rutted path that passes for a road alongside their homes. They start to walk, hoping that a passing bakkie is not is not yet full and might take their R30 each in exchange for the 30km ride to the Church of Scotland Hospital.

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