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Owing to its unique history, South Africa is a country of mixed socio-economic fortunes. Despite meeting the UN criteria for a middle-income country, millions of people still live in extreme poverty and deprivation. The average life expectancy in South Africa has decreased over the last 20 years, primarily due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and now stands at just 51-52 years.
Each year in South Africa almost half a million people are diagnosed with TB and over 100,000 die from the disease.
Target TB is currently developing a small scale community based TB project with its local partner – South Africa National Tuberculosis and HIV Association (SANTHA). Together we plan to provide TB training to HIV home-based care providers in Ehlanzeni District in Mpumalanga Province.
It is vital that communities are provided with knowledge on controlling TB – Ehlanzeni District has one of the heaviest burdens of TB but a poor track record in TB detection and treatment. Ehlanzeni is one of the 18 districts in the country prioritized by the National Department of Health for scaling up TB work.
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26% of the population in South Africa still lives on less than $1.25 per day.
South Africa has the world’s largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS and the fifth largest TB burden in the world.
Adult HIV prevalence rates range from 15% to 39% across the country, with large variations between provinces.
With approximately 60% of TB patients co-infected with TB, an integrated response to the dual TB/HIV epidemics is vital in this country.
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