10 March 2011 - Windhoek, Namibia - Taking the theme of this year's World TB day to heart, the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services has kicked off a national road-show called "On the move against TB".
The road show started on 7 March and will focus on two key messages: "Coughing for 2 weeks? Get TESTED for TB!" and "On treatment for TB? COMPLETE it!"
Two convoys - one travelling from the south and the other from the north - will cover 4000 kilometres over 17 days, passing through 20 towns and visiting communities, health clinics, and regional health centres.
On 24 March the road show will culminate in a World TB Day event in Rundu in Northern Namibia. The town, which is on the Angolan border, has a high number of people with TB. Namibian and Angolan leaders will give speeches and there will be performances by local musicians as well as TB testing.
TB is a major health problem in Namibia. More than 13,000 people became ill with TB in 2009 and drug-resistant TB is on the rise. 60% of TB patients are HIV positive.
The road show has been delivered in partnership with the World Health Organization, Penduka, The Red Cross, Project Hope. COHENA, TransNamib, Walvis Bay Corridor Group, NBC, College of the Arts, Polytechnic, Nampower, Social Security, Orlando Pirates Sports Club, Namibia Breweries and USAID.