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- The health department is concerned about the high death rate of TB patients.
- According to the WHO's 2023 Global TB Report, 54 200 people died of TB in South Africa.
- SA is hosting a four-day BRICS TB Research Network Innovation Summit in Durban this week.
Although it had noticed a decline in tuberculosis (TB) infections, the national health department said it was concerned about the unacceptable death rate among patients in the country.
According to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) 2023 Global TB Report, which was published early last month, about 54 200 people died of TB in 2022 in South Africa.
The report also mentioned that there were around 280 000 people who fell ill with the disease.
The report was released a month after Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced there would be a reduction of R1 billion in HIV and TB research grants.
He said the government was under financial pressure, and the department would contribute to reducing government spending.
South Africa is hosting a four-day BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] TB Research Network Innovation Summit in Durban.
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Deputy Health Minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo on Monday delivered a keynote address on the first day of the event, which brought together scientists and senior officials from BRICS member states, to facilitate collaborative scientific research focused on innovations in TB diagnosis, vaccines, therapeutics and drugs, and the strengthening and service delivery of health systems.
The network was established in 2017 by the health ministries in BRICS countries, in response to the burden of TB, which accounted for 40% of cases worldwide.
"TB remains a pressing concern for South Africa, as it does for all BRICS countries and many nations. 300 000 people are estimated to get TB every year in South Africa. Last year alone, we managed to notify and put 224 000 people on a TB treatment regime. Although our infection incidence is declining, we are concerned about the unacceptable death rate among our TB patients," Dhlomo said.
He said a major driver of the TB infection was HIV, because 48% of the TB patients in 2022 were people living with HIV.
He said that, after the negative impact of Covid-19 on public health programmes, South Africa developed a TB Recovery Plan through the involvement of all stakeholders, particularly civil society.
Dhlomo added:
Meanwhile, UNITE4TB, the largest public-private collaboration in tuberculosis drug development, started its phase 2B/C clinical trial programme, with the first participant enrolled at its trial site in Cape Town.
The organisation said this was a major milestone for the project and the TB community as a whole, because it helped advance TB science and enhance the efficiency of new treatments.
Professor Andreas Diacon, the chairperson and CEO of TASK Europe, said the sites were chosen based on TB prevalence.
TASK is a multinational, multi-site clinical research institute which aims to improve global health through testing and progressing novelty medicines, vaccines and diagnostics in various therapeutic areas.
"At TASK, we conduct all stages of clinical trials, from first-in-human trials all the way through to licensing. We are thrilled to kick off the UNITE4TB clinical trial programme in Cape Town and are proud to be part of this important clinical research project," he said.
Professor Martin Boeree, UNITE4TB project coordinator, said the world needed a new drug for TB and new ways to run clinical studies.
"Our public-private partnership sets a new standard in this regard. If successful, our work will deliver a new treatment regimen of shorter duration that can be used to fight all types of TB," he said.
