Accounting for a third of the world’s countries with highest TB burdens, Southern Africa is at the center of the dual epidemic of TB and HIV/AIDS. Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho and Zambia are no exception. These countries have high levels of TB/HIV coinfections and related mortality as well as increased risks of multidrug-resistant TB against a backdrop of large-scale and growing mining sectors which are a contributor to this health challenge.

In May, 2016 by the World Bank Board approved US$122 million worth of financial assistance to tackle the scourge of Tuberculosis (TB) in some of Southern Africa’s high burden TB countries --Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia --the capital of Mozambique hosts the regional launch for the project. The event represents a milestone in the project’s life-cycle and serves as a summit of policy makers and experts from the above countries, which have demonstrated leadership and interest in working together to explore innovative ways of confronting the Southern Africa’s TB challenge.