TB awareness walk draws community support in Pienaar | Mpumalanga News

As part of the World Tuberculosis (TB) Month commemorations in March, some community members from Pienaar and surrounds participated in a TB Awareness Walk on March 28.

The initiative was hosted by the Lifa Lesive Community Development (LLCD) organisation, in partnership with the Mpumalanga Department of Health and the Traditional Healers Organisation (THO), to raise awareness about the importance of testing for and treating TB.

According to the LLCD’s founder, Lucky Nkosi, TB is a highly infectious disease that requires urgent attention. “The walk was successful as community members showed support in the fight against the spread of the disease. We created this initiative because of the situations the community is facing, especially with resources that are not available at local clinics,” said Nkosi.

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According to the national Department of Health’s statistics, more than 50 000 people died from TB in 2022.  A TB co-ordinator of the Mpumalanga Department of Health, Sizwe Nkosi, stressed the importance of creating awareness about TB in communities.

“We have two clinics assisting with TB in Pienaar, Daantjie and Msogwaba, and we have discovered that many people with the disease fail to take their medication. Today, we are here to provide more information about TB. It is important to create awareness in the communities about this infectious disease and there are lot of people living with TB in these areas,” Sizwe said.

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The event also highlighted the crucial role of traditional practitioners in combatting TB.

Levy Nkosi, a THO representative, emphasised that some people still prefer traditional medicine over western medical practices. “TB is a serious disease, which is the second most prominent and dangerous in South Africa after HIV. It has killed so many people. We are here offer to support as TB is manageable and treatable, but it it requires a patient to consult a clinic to get the prescribed medication and eat well,” said Levy.