THINK, a health impact and research organisation are at the forefront of World TB Day initiatives to improve the quality of life for people affected by TB in South Africa and around the world. THINK is part of the ongoing planning meetings led by the office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal. World TB Day is a global commemoration held on 24th March of each year and is aimed at building public awareness. It provides an opportunity for every community to unite in the fight against TB and show support for people infected and affected by TB.
Planning and implementation of the World TB Day is coordinated by the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). Furthermore, all Provinces are then expected to coordinate World TB Day activities through the Provincial Council on AIDS (PCA). South Africa rotates the commemoration across all the provinces. This year’s World TB Day 2024 commemoration will be hosted in Gauteng province under the Theme: “Yes! We Can End TB”.
The Province of KwaZulu-Natal will be commemorating the day through a series of build-up activities which are commencing soon and the actual day for the event is still to be confirmed by the Office of the Premier.
Therefore, the plenary meeting which took place in Richmond on the 12th March between the Office of the Premier, COGTA, Civic Societies, Department of Social Development and various NGO’s including THINK representatives was an important milestones in onboarding all stakeholders and outlining the planning and implementation plans for the World TB Day in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Tuberculosis is one of the leading infectious killer, therefore ongoing interventions aimed at curbing the disease are important in reducing the transmission rate and there is a need for creating ongoing education and raising awareness. In the province of KwaZulu-Natal there will be workstreams conducted on the World TB Day which will be finalised once the programme of the day is approved. There are multiple buildup activities that will be conducted including informal settlements visits, TB Blitz, TB awareness in schools, door to door campaigns on GBV and TB awareness, Men’s Forum, Operation MBO at Nhlazuka and Mahlamvini, Taxi Rank talks, Sport activities at Silahla sportground and others.
The province of KwaZulu-Natal made a commitment that in all build activities there will be a relevant MEC presence or a senior official, the build-up activities will be in Richmond the surrounding areas and the venue for the actual commemoration will be still announced.