communities of these individuals,” said Chirrime. Mounting health crisis TB is among the top ve causes of death in sub- Saharan Africa, accounting for 26 percent of the world ' s TB cases. One-third of the world ' s 22 high-burden countries are also in southern Africa, according to the World Health Organization ' s 2016 global TB report.“ We ' re making some progress but, despite some results, there ' s still a huge burden. �ere ' s still unacceptable rates of TB and HIV coinfections, incidence, and deaths,” Talkmore Maruta, senior laboratory specialist at the ECSA-HC, told the conference. Among the challenges are the region ' s weak prevention and treatment system, limited diagnostic capacities and quality assurance, and inadequate human resources.“ All patients in southern Africa should be accessing TB diagnostic and all patients should be tested with drug susceptibility testing,” said Licé Gonzalez-Angulo from the Research for TB Elimination department at the WHO ' s Global TB Program.“ More than 40 percent of patients aren ' t being diagnosed.”
In 2014, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland signed the Southern African Development Community declaration on the harmonization of TB management in the mining sector. �e framework aims to give mine workers and their communities con dence that wherever they seek treatment they will be prescribed the same interventions. Continuity in care Now those medical guidelines will be complemented with digital patient tracking. Next year, it will be expanded into more communities, selected for their high rates of migrant labor.“ What we know is that treatment success rates in mining communities is low and mainly related to cross-border migration,” Chirrime said.“ �ey don ' t continue treatment.” Chirrime expects this new project to make a signi cant difference in the continuum of care for cross-border miners and migrant populations.“ We hope this will [ address ] the challenges currently faced, namely interruption of treatment and communication, in terms of the harmonization of treatment regimens across borders,” she said.
“ Some patients may be diagnosed in one country and then referred to another. With this system you will know where the patient belongs and when the patient doesn ' t show, you can trace the patient and see where he is,” she said. Strengthening laboratory systems In order for the uni ed care regime to work, laboratory and medical facilities will also need improvements.“ Lab officers need to be trained in quality management systems so they have a good understanding of health system requirements,” said Maruta, who is working through the SATBHSS project to train lab officers to conduct quality audits of their laboratories.“ �e critical thing during audits is to identify areas that need improvement so we can start closing gaps,” he said. Gonzalez-Angulo agrees. She said supporting countries to achieve quality assured, accessible, and sustainable TB diagnostic networks and laboratory services was one of the most important interventions moving forward.“ We have a lot of work to do,” Maruta added.“ We need to put our foot down and be more serious about controlling this monster of TB.” sales @ truflopumps. com. au www. truflopumps. com. au
FMDZ | Sep- Oct 2017 | Page11