Officials at South Africa’s Compensation Commission for Occupational Diseases (CCOD) have declared that it will process the backlog of 500,000 compensation claims with a year, as it partners with industry bodies to improve the claiming process. The CCOD is currently processing claims from current and former miners who have contracted lung diseases from working in the industry. Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi brought a new team into the department in 2012 to attempt to clear a history of cases dating back decades and the CCOD has reorganised to make it easier to claim compensation. Over half of the historic claims are for TB and the minister unveiled plans to screen all workers and those in nearby mining communities for TB.