DEPUTY President Kgalema Motlanthe says South Africa is on track to eliminate the "twin epidemics" - TB and HIV-Aids
Speaking at a World TB Day event held at Kloof Driefontein Complex, a mining complex in Merafong, Gauteng, on Saturday, Motlanthe said the country "could and would" win the fight against the two diseases.
"Our path towards the elimination of TB in our lifetime will not be easy. Our vision of an Aids-free world is possible. Let us walk this path with commitment, conviction and compassion.
"These twin epidemics will be subdued by our resilience, commitment and strength as we take them on. With this strength of spirit ... we are assured that nothing can stop us now."
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Motlanthe then unveiled a new strategy to beat TB.
The plan "is to manage HIV-Aids and TB because the two diseases have a close relationship".
"We will identify the high risk population, which includes miners. Gold mines are the most problematic," the head of South Africa's TB control programme, David Mametja, told Sowetan last week.
Motlanthe said the government was not only commemorating World TB Day but also marking two critical milestones "in our comprehensive efforts to address the dual epidemics of HIV and TB in our country".
He said one of them was in line with the plan for HIV, TB and sexually transmitted infections announced by President Jacob Zuma in December last year.
Motsoaledi and Motlanthe launched the plan on Saturday and also announced that implementation would start in earnest on April 1.
The plan states the government's vision as well as the targets they have set for the next 5 years.
The 20-year vision articulated in the plan are:
l Zero new HIV and TB infections;
l Zero new infections due to HIV transmission from mother to child;
l Zero preventable deaths from HIV and TB; and
l Zero discrimination associated with HIV, STIs and TB.
The five-year targets are:
l To reduce the number of new HIV infections by half;
l To ensure that at least 80% of people who need treatment for HIV are receiving it and that at least 70% of these people should still be on treatment after five years;
l To halve the number of new infections and deaths from TB;
l To ensure that a legal framework exists and is used to protect the rights of people living with HIV; and
l to eliminate stigma related to HIV and TB.
"Judging from what is elaborated in our plan for HIV, TB and STI's, we have a great deal of work ahead of us," Motlanthe said.
In March last year Motsoaledi unveiled new TB testing equipment - GeneXpert machines - that gives same-day results.
We will defeat these two diseases, says Motlanthe
DEPUTY President Kgalema Motlanthe says South Africa is on track to eliminate the "twin epidemics" - TB and HIV-Aids
Speaking at a World TB Day event held at Kloof Driefontein Complex, a mining complex in Merafong, Gauteng, on Saturday, Motlanthe said the country "could and would" win the fight against the two diseases.
"Our path towards the elimination of TB in our lifetime will not be easy. Our vision of an Aids-free world is possible. Let us walk this path with commitment, conviction and compassion.
"These twin epidemics will be subdued by our resilience, commitment and strength as we take them on. With this strength of spirit ... we are assured that nothing can stop us now."
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Motlanthe then unveiled a new strategy to beat TB.
The plan "is to manage HIV-Aids and TB because the two diseases have a close relationship".
"We will identify the high risk population, which includes miners. Gold mines are the most problematic," the head of South Africa's TB control programme, David Mametja, told Sowetan last week.
Motlanthe said the government was not only commemorating World TB Day but also marking two critical milestones "in our comprehensive efforts to address the dual epidemics of HIV and TB in our country".
He said one of them was in line with the plan for HIV, TB and sexually transmitted infections announced by President Jacob Zuma in December last year.
Motsoaledi and Motlanthe launched the plan on Saturday and also announced that implementation would start in earnest on April 1.
The plan states the government's vision as well as the targets they have set for the next 5 years.
The 20-year vision articulated in the plan are:
l Zero new HIV and TB infections;
l Zero new infections due to HIV transmission from mother to child;
l Zero preventable deaths from HIV and TB; and
l Zero discrimination associated with HIV, STIs and TB.
The five-year targets are:
l To reduce the number of new HIV infections by half;
l To ensure that at least 80% of people who need treatment for HIV are receiving it and that at least 70% of these people should still be on treatment after five years;
l To halve the number of new infections and deaths from TB;
l To ensure that a legal framework exists and is used to protect the rights of people living with HIV; and
l to eliminate stigma related to HIV and TB.
"Judging from what is elaborated in our plan for HIV, TB and STI's, we have a great deal of work ahead of us," Motlanthe said.
In March last year Motsoaledi unveiled new TB testing equipment - GeneXpert machines - that gives same-day results.
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