South African Province Allocates $1M for TB Program

South Africa's Free State province plans to spend about $1 million to increase the tuberculosis treatment success rate in the province, Minister of the Executive Council for Health Sakhiwo Belot announced this week during the launch of the province's TB Crisis Plan, BuaNews reports. The province in 2004 had a treatment success rate of 66.6%, below the national target of 85%, according to BuaNews. The province also has a TB incidence rate of 667.5 cases per 100,000 people and ranks fourth in the country for TB-related deaths, BuaNews reports. Belot said most of the money will go to the Fezile Dabi district, which has the province's lowest treatment success rate, as well as a high rate of unevaluated TB cases. Belot also said the provincial health department plans to appoint 10 subdistrict coordinators to help monitor TB activities, and each district will select a TB information officer. In addition, an inpatient care coordinator will be appointed to monitor hospital TB management, and a technical adviser will be appointed to help general practitioners improve communication and training. The department is seeking to improve DOTS, as well as treatment compliance and adherence rates by monitoring patients and training volunteers, according to BuaNews. In addition, the health department aims to improve multi-drug resistant TB prevention and management, BuaNews reports. Belot said the TB plan will have to overcome obstacles -- including poor resource allocation, cases being presented late because of lack of knowledge about symptoms, and poor patient referral between hospitals and primary care facilities. Belot called on patients who had not completed treatment to resume taking their medication (Dlamini, BuaNews, 7/6).