He arrived in the province on Wednesday and engaged the provincial government ahead of the commemoration.

Mabuza has reiterated the importance of strengthening the country’s health system to effectively fight the spread of tuberculosis.

The deputy president will give a keynote address during the commemoration of world TB Day in Barkly West.

Deputy President David Mabuza in his capacity as the Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council leads the official commemoration of #WorldTBDay2022 in Barkley West, near Kimberley in the Northern Cape. pic.twitter.com/uL9P7EbI1u

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) March 24, 2022

This year’s World TB Day is commemorated under the theme: “Invest in action to end TB now.”

Mabuza has during his two-day visit to the province highlighted that the same effort that was invested in fighting Covid-19 must be invested in fighting the scourge of TB.

South Africa is still among the nations hardest hit by Tuberculosis.

The infectious disease has remained the leading cause of death in the country for several years.

Deputy President David Mabuza is on a two-day visit in the Northern Cape which coincides with World TB Day on Thursday.

For the past two years, it has been all hands on deck to combat the spread of Covid-19. TB, HIV/Aids, however, remains a huge concern.

Mabuza said the time has come for the country to ramp up measures to end the spread of TB.

“As much as we are relaxing the regulations so that we can facilitate the movement of our people and revitalise our economy, we must continue to sanitise and wear our masks because the pandemic is not over. Through the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) we have decided that the same effort that we put in fighting Covid-19 we must put now in fighting TB and HIV/Aids.”

SABC News