In a May 10th debate in the South African Parliament, opposition member Dr. Wilmot Godfrey James of the Democratic Alliance praised the health minister of South Africa, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, for his nationwide tuberculosis (TB) efforts. It is “the minister’s fighting spirit,” Dr. James stated, “that led the charge against HIV/AIDS, as he has against TB, winning the USAID TB international award for the effort recently.” The award, conferred by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the March 17th commemoration of World TB Day 2016, recognized Minister Motsoaledi and the South Africa Ministry of Health for outstanding leadership in combating the country's TB epidemic.

With some of the highest TB and HIV/AIDS burdens in the world, South Africa has strived to implement innovative approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat TB. Minister Motsoaledi and the Ministry have embraced and scaled up new diagnostics and adopted new drugs to more rapidly identify and cure multidrug-resistant TB. The health minister reported that, since the Ministry launched a screening campaign during last year’s World TB Day, thousands of people at risk of TB, such as those in prisons and mining communities, have been successfully screened for the disease.

Dr. James commended Minister Motsoaledi’s dedication to stopping TB in South Africa. He said, “When the minister takes aim, members, stuff happens. And we from this side of the House applaud you for that.”

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