BY NIZBERT MOYO
A LOCAL civic society organisation is fund-raising to eradicate cases of tuberculosis (TB) among artisanal miners in the Matabeleland region.
Rehabilitation and Prevention of Tuberculosis (RAPT) director, Ellen Ndimande told Southern Eye last Thursday that they will fundraise for their operations in the city.
“We are a tuberculosis-fighting organisation formed in 1954, working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to eradicate cases of TB in the southern region. We are appealing to members of the public to support us in this noble cause by donating in cash and kind,’’ he said.
“Our region is a high TB burdened area due to an influx of artisanal miners, who are living in poor conditions. TB is associated with dust and these people live in places where there is no proper ventilation. They live in shacks and in some cases they live in pigsties, especially those operating at Hope Fountain area. The miners live in large numbers such that if one of them is infected, the entire group can be affected.”
Ndimande could not be drawn into revealing the number of miners affected in the region, indicating that they will host a fundraising dinner on November 29, whose proceeds would go towards the TB fight.
RAPT programmes officer, Fred Mutswairo said they were also targeting children and the elderly in the programme.
