19 May 2022

One third of all Tuberculosis (TB) cases in southern Africa are attributed to the mining industry, says deputy permanent secretary of health services, Dr Tshepo Machacha.

Addressing SADC TB coordinators in Gaborone on Wednesday, Dr Machacha said the disease was also one of the greatest killers. He noted that the SADC region carried the highest burden of the disease relative to its population.

He urged the coordinators to tackle the root causes of TB faced by key populations and to create a system that would be sustainable beyond the project lifespan.

Dr Machacha said miners, ex miners, their families and communities were at the greatest risk of contracting the respiratory disease. 

He noted that labour sending countries increased the risk of TB spreading and the risk of disruption to health care for those miners receiving treatment and their families.

He said the spread of TB was aggravated by poor living and working conditions that miners were subjected to. 

He also said ex-miners and their families did not have access to quality TB services, including compensation that would allow them to continue with treatment and providing decent housing for their families.

He said the phase III project (TIMS III) focused on advocating for change as well as monitoring the implementations targeted at bringing change in the fight against TB.

Thus, he said  TIMS project was developed, and officially launched in Malawi in February this year.   

He said  that the project was introduced to all key government players to get a buy in of all countries and the SADC region.

Further, Dr Machacha said ownership of the project by countries and the region was important to ensure that commitments made by the heads of state on ending TB by 2030 through Sustainable Development Goals were realised.

“It is only fitting that the beneficiaries of TIMS phase III are equally brought to speed on the project for their ownership as well,” he said, adding that the project was centred on creating a multi-sectorial approach to tackling the issues.

He stressed the importance of coordinating efforts within countries as well as regionally to ensure implementation of the project. He added that it would also strengthen regional coordination, help with gathering information for purposes of advocacy, accountability and better prioritisation for TB in the mining sector as well as promoting sustainable interventions.

Dr Machacha also said each stakeholder played a crucial role in ensuring that the support provided in implementing the project fed into the collective objective of ending the plight of TB.

The two-day meeting was attended by all SADC member states coordinators of TB to discuss and contribute to the achievement of SDG 2030 targets through ensuring that the region had access to quality TB prevention and treatment services and improved working and living conditions. ends