Launch of TB dashboard hailed as ‘positive development’

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi officially launched the near-live dashboard in Johannesburg on Friday. 

The initiative is part of collaborative work between the Department of Health, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and the National Health Laboratory Service.

The primary purpose of the dashboard is to track national progress towards testing the five million people for TB over the next year.

The campaign started on 1 April and will run until 31 March 2026.

Dr Dimakatso Lebina, Director of Clinical Trials at the Africa Health Research Institute, said the dashboard's introduction is a positive development.

The dashboard provides TB testing data by province, district, age, and sex through an interactive and easy-to-use platform.

The tool will integrate national laboratory data to support the early detection of TB cases and help pinpoint areas in need of increased testing and treatment.

"We cannot know how we are doing in reducing the TB burden unless we can track it closely," said Dr Lebina.

She added that the tracker will allow researchers, health officials, community members, and activists to track progress and evaluate the impact of TB reduction efforts.

Dr Lebina emphasised the importance of having access to this data at the local level.

While acknowledging that the tracker’s launch may be somewhat delayed, she stressed that having the data now is far better than not having it.

"It's better than what we were working with in the past," Dr Lebina said. 

South Africa has a high burden of TB, with an incidence rate of 468 per 100,000 of the population.

In 2022, an estimated 54,000 people died from TB.

“Research has shown that if you can test five million people in South Africa and put those who test positive on treatment, we will make huge progress in ending TB locally,”  Motsoaledi said at the launch on Friday.

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