One in seven people—more than one billion individuals worldwide—have some form of disability. One in four people, or 1.7 billion individuals, are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the infectious agent that causes tuberculosis (TB). TB is a disease that causes visible and invisible disabilities, a disease whose treatment can cause disability, and a disease which disproportionately affects […]
Category: Tuberculosis
COVID-19 response allowing epidemics like tuberculosis to mount a comeback
Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck such a ferocious blow to the global health community, there was a trend in the right direction in eradicating other longstanding infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2015 and 2020, global tuberculosis (TB) incidence fell by 11%. Now, unfortunately, it seems that we’re losing that […]
Why Informed Patients are Key to Addressing India’s TB Crisis ?
From close to a decade of experience in working on Tuberculosis (TB) in India, I have noticed a constant refrain from the stories and narratives of the TB affected: ‘we didn’t know anything about TB.’ An equally common connected complaint is: ‘we were never provided the relevant information needed to fight TB.’ Why do patients […]
Where are the economic benefits we, the TB-affected, were promised?
Deepti Chavan When the Government of India in its National Tuberculosis Strategic Plan 2017-2022 announced that tuberculosis (TB) patients would be provided direct economic benefits while on treatment, I was overjoyed. I have seen up close and upfront how TB affects a family’s economic status. I am a multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB survivor. My six-year […]