By Sifiso Nhlabatsi | 2018-02-23
AS the country strives to end tuberculosis by 2030, Minister of Health Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane has revealed that statistics have shown that Swaziland has already started seeing some improvement as a declining trend has been observed over the years.
Ndlela-Simelane said, for example, last year as a ministry they were notified about 3 226 cases, which is down by over 70 per cent. The minister made these remarks during the Out of Step 2017 report presentation at Esibayeni Lodge yesterday.
She said TB is still the world’s deadliest infectious disease and the leading cause of death amongst HIV positive people. She said in 2010, Swaziland saw an escalation of the TB notification rate which surpassed 11 000 cases.
Ndlela-Simelane said this escalation led to the government declaring TB an emergency, which was an effort to concentrate all efforts in ensuring that the spread of the disease is kept in check. She said it became evident that innovative interventions had to be used to respond to this increasing number of people who were being infected with TB.
The minister said even though TB treatment costs are high, the government of Swaziland continues to ensure a continuous supply of the necessary medicines so that all diagnosed patients are not out of treatment anytime and they are provided at no cost to the patients.
She said the country has distributed gene-Xpert machines, which confirms TB within two hours. According to the minister, this was aimed at affording the citizens quick and appropriate diagnosis so that they could be initiated on TB treatment timely.
“The country has initiated active case finding which has brought TB services to the door step of the community with the hope of finding missing cases as well as mop out any cases that could have remained.
Innovative interventions were also put in place to combat the escalation of the drug resistant strains of TB, which were threatening to derail the efforts being made to fight TB,” the minister stated.
She also pointed out that several interventions which were started included implementation of shortening the duration of treatment from 24 months to nine months, introducing new drugs with fewer side effects and also reduce the pill burden.
Ndlela-Simelane said in 2014, Swaziland piloted shorter MDR-TB regimen which contributed to the WHO new guidelines and in 2017 the country adopted the regimen within the TB guidelines. She said new medicines were introduced in 2015 and these medicines have really changed a lot of people’s lives. She said the country also joined hands with fellow SADC countries in the fight against silicosis and lung disease to all miners, ex-miners and their families who may be suffering from the disease.
She said it is in that regard that the country has established two occupational health facilities at Hlatikulu and RFM aimed at taking care of those citizens who are miners and ex-miners and may have been affected by silicosis.
“However, there is still a significant need to scale up prevention and testing programmes, to reach out to all people in need, particularly the key populations, including children, prisoners, pregnant women, to name a few and to address social determinants, fight stigmatisation and discrimination of people with TB and HIV, in an effort of ensuring human rights for all as we strive to end TB by 2030,” the minister stated.
She pointed out that it gives her great joy that the country has already started seeing some improvement.
“We are seeing a declining trend over the years, for example, last year we were notified about 3 226 cases, which is down by over 70 per cent!” the minister was quoted saying. She said, however, it is understood that there is still need to confirm the actual burden of TB through TB surveys.
About the 2017 Out
of Step report:
The 2017 Out of Step report, according to the minister of health, includes the results of a 29-country survey on national TB policies and practices.
The report was created to identify gaps in implementation and monitor progress towards ending TB. While countries have made progress since the 2015 Out of Step report, much more work needs to be done to make sure that these policies are fully implemented across all communities, so that they will make a real difference to people affected by TB.
Diagnosing TB quickly and accurately, so that people receive appropriate treatment, is an imperative first step. The minister, during the presentation of the report, congratulated the MSF for the contribution the organisation has made in the fight against TB in Swaziland.
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