Tshegofatso Mashabela MMC for Health in Hammanskraal during TB awareness programme photos supplied
By cllr Tshegofatso Mashabela
MMC for Health
The City of Tshwane has officially concluded Tuberculosis (TB) Awareness Month with a community-centred TB awareness programme held at the Mandela Community Sports Centre in Hammanskraal on Saturday, 28 March 2026.
The programme marked the culmination of a month-long campaign aimed at strengthening awareness, encouraging early detection, and mobilising communities in the fight against TB under the theme “Invest to End TB.
Save Lives.”
The event brought together various stakeholders, including government departments, healthcare workers, civil society organisations, and community members, reflecting a unified and coordinated response to a disease that continues to pose a significant public health challenge in Tshwane.
While progress has been made in addressing TB, the City of Tshwane acknowledges that the burden of the disease remains high, particularly in vulnerable communities where poverty, overcrowding, and limited access to healthcare services persist.
These conditions, coupled with ongoing
challenges such as diagnostic gaps, delayed detection, and patient loss to follow-up, highlight the need for sustained and intensified interventions.
Through the conclusion of TB Awareness Month, the City of Tshwane has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening its response to TB by expanding community-based screening and testing, improving early diagnosis, and ensuring that all individuals diagnosed with TB are promptly linked to care and initiated on treatment.
The City continues to prioritise integrated service delivery by aligning TB interventions with HIV programmes and broader social support services, recognising the interconnected nature of these challenges.
At the same time, efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination remain central to the City’s approach, as community support and awareness are critical in ensuring that individuals seek help without fear or hesitation.
Residents have been urged to remain vigilant and to recognise the common symptoms of TB, including a persistent cough lasting more than two weeks, chest pain, coughing up blood, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, and fever.
The City calls on all residents to seek testing immediately when experiencing these symptoms, to adhere fully to treatment if diagnosed, and to support those affected by TB.
Early detection and consistent treatment remain key to preventing the spread of the disease and saving lives.
Cllr Tshegofatso Mashabela, MMC for Health, emphasized that “ending TB requires a collective effort that extends beyond the health sector.
Government, civil society, the private sector, and community leaders all have a vital role to play in raising awareness,
supporting affected individuals, and strengthening prevention and response
strategies”.
This multisectoral approach remains central to the City’s ongoing efforts to combat TB effectively.
As TB Awareness Month concludes, the City of Tshwane reaffirms its commitment to prioritising TB interventions within its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and to strengthening community-based healthcare services to ensure that no resident is left behind.
The City calls on all communities to move beyond awareness and take decisive action, as TB is both preventable and curable when addressed early and collectively.
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