First Mining Drc-Zambia Sep/Oct 2017 FMDRC-Zambia Sep Oct

Mining NEWS Digital patient tracking aims to tackle TB crisis in Southern Africa Every year, 500,000 men travel across southern consistent medical care risk going undiagnosed Africa to work in South Africa's mines. In doing or, if they only sporadically access treatment, so, they nd themselves triply vulnerable to acquiring resistance to rst-line treatments. contracting tuberculosis. in Mexico last week. e pilot began in September in two districts in In response to this public health crisis, four each of four countries: Lesotho, Malawi, countries earlier this year launched a landmark Mozambique, and Zambia. e system enables Mines produce high levels of silica dust, which electronic referral system that aims to serve as a a patient to be traced across borders. For renders the lungs prone to bacterial infection. medical passport for patients. e pilot example, if a patient is referred from South HIV is also prevalent in the region, and those program is funded by the Global Fund to Fight Africa to Zambia, health care professionals in with compromised immune systems are more AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and was both countries will be able to trace the patient likely to contract TB. Finally, con ned work developed by a multistakeholder program and receive noti cations whenever the patient spaces and poor living conditions facilitate called TIMS (TB in the Mining Sector in is sent to a health care facility. airborne transmission. Southern Africa) that hopes to digitize and close the gaps. As a result, the incidence of TB among workers Following the pilot, the World Bank hopes to scale up the system with its Southern Africa in South Africa's mines is the highest in the “Cross-border migration is fueling the TB Tuberculosis and Health Systems Support world — 10 times higher than the level of a epidemic,” said Ivandra Chirrime, senior TB project. It hopes the innovation will prove a new health emergency de ned by the WHO. control specialist at the East, Central and way to target TB in mobile populations, Moreover, the epidemic is mobile; men develop Southern Africa Health Community, an prov i d i n g s e am l e s s c are i n t h e m o s t interrupting of circumstances. active TB and then return home and infect their intergovernmental health organization that communities. Each migrant worker who promotes regional cooperation. “It's very returns home with TB spreads the disease to an diﬃcult to trace paper-based information and “It's expected that this intervention will estimated 10 to 15 people in his community, to make sure the miner in South Africa improve TB treatment outcomes, reduce the according to the Stop TB Partnership. continues TB treatment when he goes back to development of drug resistance due to Lesotho or Swaziland,” she told Devex at the treatment interruption … and reduce TB Patients who travel across borders without 48th Union World Conference on Lung Health infectiousness within the families and Page10 | Sep - Oct 2017 | FMDZ

First Mining Drc-Zambia Sep/Oct 2017 FMDRC-Zambia Sep Oct | Page 10