SA to commemorate World TB Day on Thursday

South Africa is still among the nations hardest hit by Tuberculosis.

The infectious disease has remained the leading cause of death in the country for several years.

Deputy President David Mabuza is on a two-day visit in the Northern Cape ahead of World TB Day on Thursday.

For the past two years it has been all hands on deck to combat the spread of COVID-19.

TB, HIV/Aids however remains a huge concern.

Mabuza said the time has come for the country to ramp up measures to end the spread of TB: “As much as we are relaxing the regulations so that we can facilitate the movement of our people and revitalize our economy we must continue to sanitize and wear our mask because the pandemic is not over. through the South African National Aids Council (SANAC) we have decided that the same effort that we put in fighting COVID-19 we must put now in fighting TB and HIV/Aids.”

Labour federations highlight that TB remains a concern in the mining industry with thousands of miners having lost their lives.

With COVID-19 regulations relaxed, calls are mounting for TB to be given the same attention.

Cosatu’s President Zingiswa Losi says: “The similarities of HIV and TB, they both affect the lungs, they are both pandemics, and are deadly. In the past two years we have put our heads together and achieved a lot. COVID-19 really knocked us back for a six. However, we stuck it out and regulations are now being eased. As an organised labour we are saying we should do the same with TB.”