Hon Speaker, the ANC welcomes the new development of a potential drug treatment that has the ability to simplify and shorten tuberculosis, TB, treatment to less than six months. Currently, the drug is being tested for effectiveness, safety and tolerability on patients at two centres, the Lung Institute at the University of Cape Town and the TASK Research Centre in Bellville.
If successful, the experimental regimen will offer a shorter, simpler, safer and more affordable treatment option for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, MDR TB, an emerging global health threat. This is going to be a significant advance for MDR TB patients, who today must take multiple types of drugs - including injectables - daily for up to two years.
The ANC supports and believes that it will assist and bring relief to those who have been compelled to take treatment for longer periods. This new treatment shortens the period of taking the treatment, which is one of the main reasons for patients' defaulting. I thank you. [Applause.]