Financial Gazette Examines HIV/TB Coinfection in Southern Africa

The Financial Gazette on Friday examined challenges associated with HIV/tuberculosis coinfection in Southern Africa. According to the Gazette, although TB and HIV/AIDS are leading causes of death in many African countries, many people are unaware of their TB or HIV status.

Tim France, a physician at a Thai health and development organization, said the global health community should "stop thinking of the two diseases in separate bodies." He added that HIV and TB programs should increase spending and efforts to treat the two diseases. Some HIV and TB advocates have said the media should promote awareness and education of HIV/TB coinfection among the general public. Joshua Chigodora, a resource center program officer at the Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Service, recently called on the media to highlight challenges associated with HIV/TB coinfection, saying, "It's time to transfer HIV advocacy skills to TB advocacy." According to SAFAIDS, the "mandate for the media to advocate greater awareness of the linkages between TB and HIV is even more pronounced" because of the increase in multi-drug resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB (Financial Gazette, 2/6).