Northern Cape Health Launches Intensive TB & Paediatric Training to Combat Disease

THE Northern Cape Department of Health has kicked off a five-day basic Tuberculosis (TB) and Paediatric management training in De Aar, as part of a concerted effort to combat the scourge of TB in the region. The training, which is being held at De Aar hospital, aims to equip healthcare workers with the skills needed to effectively find, diagnose, treat, and prevent TB in adults, adolescents and children. South Africa is recognised as having one of the highest TB, TB/HIV co-infection and drug-resistant TB burdens in the world, making this training a critical step towards addressing the country's TB crisis. The training will focus on building healthcare workers' skills to tackle challenges like difficult diagnosis, ensuring adherence with child-friendly methods, integrating care (especially with HIV), and reducing child mortality by implementing current national guidelines for early detection and comprehensive care. The key objectives are: Increase detection: Improve case-finding for childhood TB in communities through systematic screening and contact tracing. Enhance management: Equip staff to manage diverse cases (pulmonary/extrapulmonary, HIV co-infection, drug resistance) using practical, current guidelines. Improve treatment and prevention: Implement effective treatment regimens, side-effect management, adherence support and preventive therapy for eligible contacts. Strengthen care cascade: Cover the whole process from screening and diagnosis (using methods like gastric aspirates/induced sputum) to treatment and monitoring. Data and reporting: Provide accurate data to monitor and evaluate progress towards eliminating childhood TB. "Tuberculosis remains a critical and pressing global health challenge, but together, we can beat TB. It's time to break the chain of transmission," the department indicated. The training is expected to have a significant impact on the fight against TB in the region and is part of a broader effort to eliminate childhood TB.