South Africa's new National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB, and STIs 2023-2028 and the country's TB Recovery Plan necessitate a sharp increase in TB testing and increased enrolment into care, which will require additional spending on testing and medicines. Sihle Mahonga Ndawonde Ndawonde argues that a joint committee should be set up to review and interrogate provincial departments' resource allocation decisions for the next three years.

South Africa's new roadmap to tackle HIV, TB and sexually transmitted infections -- the National Strategic Plan -- lays out an ambitious list of priority actions that need to be undertaken over the next five years. The plan, released on World TB Day on 24 March, has been lauded for its multisectoral approach, which places a significant emphasis on the involvement of the community. It has been welcomed by several healthcare advocates.

But there will be many eager eyes watching the National Department of Health as they roll out plans and initiatives linked to the National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs 2023- 2028 (NSP).

There will also be many questions as healthcare advocates establish how the new plan fits into the National TB recovery plan, introduced in 2021 to help regain momentum in the TB response lost at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The resounding sentiment within civil society is one of putting policy into action and while these two plans play an integral role in supporting the National TB Programme, every good plan needs sufficient funding.

The situation around TB remains dire in South Africa. It is still a major cause of death and disability. According...