TUBERCULOSIS AND COMPENSATION: A STUDY OF A
SELECTION OF BASOTHO MINEWORKERS FROM
MASERU DISTRICT
Lugemba Budiaki
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the
Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Of
Masters of Public Health
Johannesburg, 2004
DECLARATION
I, Lugemba Budiaki declare that this research report is my own work. It is being submitted for the degree of Masters in Public Health in the University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at this or any other University.
18th day of April 2005
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DEDICATION
En la mémoire de mon père Budiaki Jean-Marie que la mort a arraché très tôt;
Ntonda ku ba tata Gaston Kifula ye Raphaël Ntombo mu ku nkumisa muntu;
Ku mama Emilie Lunieni, kiese;
A mon épouse Sylvie Lula Kintombo pour la soumission;
Last but no means least, to my daughters Grace and Nabila, and to my son Yanny for the sacrifices endured all along my studies...
To all of you my gratitude and thanks
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ABSTRACT
The Employment Bureau for Africa (TEBA Limited) established in 1902 recruits mineworkers from Lesotho and neighbouring countries for South African mines.
Information on mineworkers’ health and welfare from Lesotho is scarce.
Tuberculosis prevalence ranged between 159/100000 and 506/100000 from 1991 to 2001 in Lesotho.
This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the proportion of mineworkers affected with tuberculosis among adult male patients attending TB clinics in Maseru District’s three main hospitals and ascertain compensation of mineworkers affected by occupational lung disease including tuberculosis.
A structured questionnaire was used to interview 421 adult male TB patients at Queen
Elizabeth II, Saint Joseph and Scott hospitals in Maseru.
38.5% of participants in the study were mineworkers (former and active) in South
African mines. Among these mineworkers, 70.4% were employed in goldmines. 30.7% of mineworkers were considered eligible for compensation. 42 mineworkers received compensation for previous and current tuberculosis whilst 33 mineworkers had not.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS