Tuberculosis in Mining Sector (TIMS) programme started from a recognised need for a regionally harmonised response to the issue of Tuberculosis (TB) and related illnesses in mineworkers, ex-mineworkers, their families and the communities that they live in, and it aims to strengthen active case finding for eight of the 10 countries that TIMS is working in, the countries include Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia.
Mineworkers in Southern Africa are at a higher risk of TB due to increased occupational risk factors stemming from mineral dust, overcrowding and poor ventilation in mines. They regularly travel across national and international borders to visit their families, and this migratory movement increases the risk of transmission of TB infection in the areas that they move in. It also affects the mineworkers’ adherence to treatment, and contributes to the occurrence of a drug resistant TB. TIMS project goal is the reduction of the TB burden in the mining sector within the Southern African countries.
