TB and HIV Health NGOs Unite in Call for Partnership

A powerful alliance of health NGOs marched in a thousand-strong procession led by a group of minstrels through the streets of Belville, to commemorate World TB Month on Saturday the 27th of March.

The marchers arrived at the University of the Western Cape’s sports stadium to hand over a memorandum to a representative of the National Minister of Health – Mr Marius Fransman, the Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training. The memorandum, endorsed by TB/HIV Care Association, TADSA, TB Free, TAC, AERAS, Philippi Trust, NACOSA and SANTA, detailed a gameplan of actions needed to improve the delivery of TB and HIV health services. 

Pictured above, Mrs Mavis Nonkunzi of TB/HIV Care Association presented the issues addressed in the memorandum to Mr Fransman and called for:

• South African Stop TB Partnership
  the creation of a ‘South African Stop TB Partnership’ forum for TB and HIV NGOs to enable them to participate as true partners in developing government’s strategic plans to fight TB and HIV.
• Moving care from under one roof to under one ceiling
  the provision of patient-centred care that enables patients to receive care for TB and HIV under one ceiling and from one clinician. This includes decentralising antiretroviral treatment to primary care level.
• INH Preventative Therapy
  the implementation of isoniazid preventative therapy as part of HIV treatment in all health facilities by World TB day next year.
• Community-based care of MDR-TB
  the decentralisation of MDR-TB care to the Khayelitsha model of community-based care
• Community Team Leaders
  the strengthening of the links between NGOs and heath facilities by employing community team leaders who can connect patients with community caregivers.
• Standardize Stipends for community care workers
  the standardization of stipends for community care workers to abolish inequities between TB treatment supporters and HIV community care givers.
• Access to health registers
  allowing NGOs entrusted with the care of patients access to facility-based registers so that they can monitor the effectiveness of their work.
• TB screening linked to HIV testing
  The addition of TB screening to the Minster of Health’s campaign for every South African to test for HIV, so that  every person who tests for HIV is also screened for TB.

The event is important because of its size and the ground-breaking way in which NGOs are uniting to tackle the most significant public health issue of our time.