ECSA Commends SADC Countries for Providing TB Services to Mining Sector

South Africa-The East Central Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA) has praised countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for their efforts in providing tuberculosis (TB) services to key populations in the mining sector, writes Meclina Chirwa.

This commendation was made by Justin Mahimbo, ECSA's Communications and Advocacy Officer, during a media capacity-building workshop in Sandton, South Africa.

Mahimbo highlighted the success of the TB in the Mining Sector in Southern Africa (TIMS) grant in ensuring that all individuals have access to TB services without difficulty.

He explained that the grant had constructed occupational health service centres near mining sites to make services more inclusive for key populations.

"Under the first and second TB grants, most countries faced challenges with key populations because services were not inclusive and closer to the mining sites. So the TIMS grant managed to construct occupational health service centres where miners are able to access services. So this is among the achievements that we are proud of," Mahimbo said.

The first phase of the TIMS grant, which started on January 1, 2016, focused on developing infrastructure, processes, and systems to address the TB burden.

Participating countries included Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, Eswatini, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The second phase, which ran from January 2018 to December 2020, focused on deepening the quality of services and integrating them into country systems, among other objectives.

In Phase 2, TIMS grant developed and established 11 occupational health service centres in eight countries, four screening models that define screening, active case finding, and contact tracing in specific contexts in the region, four evidence-generating regional studies, and three IT systems addressing continuity of care.

The third phase of the grant will incorporate key populations in the mining sector, among other objectives.

The media capacity-building workshop brought together journalists from all SADC countries to report on the progress made in the provision of TB services in the mining sector.