Miss SA hopes to go gobal with #breakthestigma campaign
Miss SA, Tamaryn Green intends to take her recently launched #breakthestigma campaign, bringing awareness to TB and the stigma surrounding the disease, abroad.
The campaign, that will run during her reign, was officially announced this past week.
"The Break the Stigma campaign is directed at challenging the stigma around TB and at the same time, raising awareness around this big issue in our country and globally. It's still killing a lot of people but it is a curable disease. It's aimed at ending TB by 2035 which is the goal of the World Health Organisation and the National Department of Health," Green said.
The 24-year-old medical student was diagnosed with and later cured of occupationally acquired tuberculosis - three years ago.
Initially, she did not disclose this to her extended family and friends - for fear of being treated differently.
"I decided on this campaign because I am TB survivor. I felt stigmatised around the topic and I felt that I wanted to speak out about it and help anybody going through the same situation."
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She says through her career, she's been afforded the opportunity to better understand the dynamics of TB.
"Throughout the study of medicine - you're taught about the illness and the extent of how prevalent it is. We are also taught about the stigma in medical school in ways in which we can try and help patients with it. I do feel like I have a better understanding about it - to an extent - as it couldn't prevent me from feeling stigmatised."
Green adds - the objective going forward is to promote the campaign globally.