TB Treats from the Durban Streets

Two posts in one day?! Yeah, that's right. I've decided bring it live once again.

Today was TB Awareness Day at the hospital. There was food, a slate of speakers from several different organizations, and learning stations(!). I was pretty excited about this event in the days leading up to it; I've been doing have been doing a lot of TB work in the hospital, and I thought it was a great chance for the new TB cooridinator of to show the rest of the staff that she's serious about getting this particular epidemic under control.

However, I was mildly underwhelmed by the event. The invited speakers were sort of lame (though the aforementioned TB coordinator and the Medical Director of the hospital completely rocked out), and the event turned out to be sponsored ultimately by a big pharmaceutical company who probably produces one or more of the first or second line TB drugs currently being used in South Africa. I can't quite confirm this conspiracy theory just yet, but it just makes too much sense to me for it not to be the case.

All was not lost, however! At the event I also scored some amazing gear: a TB awareness cap and shirt. I absolutely love this hat!




And I've been wearing for the past 6 hours straight now. I actually think it's a brilliant adoption of a tried and true marketing strategy, to get the word out about the underlying prevalence of TB in this province, in the entire country. The printed message of "TB anywhere is TB everywhere" is simple, and you'd hope that a reader would immediately stop and think about the implications of this sentiment. Maybe it's won't be as effective as I imagine it to be - the slogan is probably a bit confusing on first reading - but I still think it's an excellent execution of a creative idea, which has sometimes felt lacking during my time here in SA. And good, bad, or ugly, it can't be denied that I rock this look well.




I'll catch you guy again sometime soon. These applications need to get done, and I'm gonna need some study breaks. Later.