The SA Medical Association said South Africa was giving practical expression to this year's theme for World TB Day on Friday.
Sama chairperson, Dr Mzukisi Grootboom, said this had been achieved by placing political leaders at the forefront of the battle against TB and HIV.
He said the South African National AIDS Council is headed by Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, while the Department of Health has also prioritized the issue.
Dr Grootboom said the government's national National Strategic Plan aims to cut the incidence of TB by at least 30%, and to attain at least a 90% treatment success rate for drug-sensitive TB, and a 65% treatment success rate for multi-drug resistant TB.
"The theme of the World TB Day this year is 'Unite to end TB' with South Africa adapting the theme to 'Unite to end TB and HIV - South African Leaders Taking Action'. This is an important modification as its places our politicians at the forefront of the TB/HIV battle. It sends the message that a combined effort by everyone is needed to fight this scourge " said Dr Grootboom.
Almost 20% of people living with HIV globally live in South Africa, where TB is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. In resource-constrained countries such as South Africa, TB is also the leading cause of death among HIV-infected persons.
Drug resistant TB, such as extreme drug resistant TB (X-DR TB), continuing to be a concerning challenge. Multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) accounts for 1.8% of new TB cases and 6.7% of retreatment cases.
According to Dr Grootboom South Africa has, for the past few years, practically demonstrated the principle of the 2017 World TB Day theme.
He said this has been achieved by placing political leaders at the forefront of the TB/HIV battle through, for example, the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), which is headed by Deputy President. The Department of Health has also prioritized the issue.
"The National Strategic Plan (NSP)2017-22 aims to cut TB incidence by at least 30%, and to attain at least a 90% treatment success rate for drug-sensitive TB, and at least 65% treatment success rate for multi-drug resistant TB. Through SANAC's NSP our country is addressing the game changers to end TB as a public health threat."
Dr Grootboom said however, there is still great concern for those at the forefront of the TB battle, namley healthcare workers. Evidence shows that healthcare workers are six times more likely to contract drug-resistant TB. He noted that as a health professional body, SAMA is concerned about health workers like doctors, nurses and radiographers who contract TB while on duty.
"TB is preventable and curable; no South African should suffer needles morbidity due to the disease. We support all campaigns aimed at preventing and reducing the burden of TB on the population. SAMA's recent acceptance of the role as the new Secretariat for the SANAC's Health Professionals' Sector demonstrates doctors giving themselves to uniting with other stakeholders to end TB. Together we can beat TB," Dr Grootboom concluded.
