Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has set South Africa’s fight against tuberculosis (TB) back an estimated 12 years.💉
“Since 2010, over one million South Africans are estimated to have succumbed to TB, which is preventable and curable.”Phaahla said there has been some recovery since 2022, but it is estimated that the pandemic has reversed 12 years of global progress against the disease.
“The recovery plan is a target-driven, evidence-based plan aimed at finding people with undiagnosed TB, strengthening linkage of people diagnosed with treatment, strengthening retention in TB care, and strengthening prevention.”“There are some new interventions and exciting developments [such as] expanded screening activities with TB Health Check, as well as the use of digital chest X-ray for TB screening.
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