How can we leave those behind who are at higher TB risk?
BOBBY RAMAKANT - CNS
A female migrant worker who lives in an urban slum in India's national capital Delhi lost both her children to TB. When the best of standard TB diagnostics and latest treatments are available (and also made in India), even one TB death is a death too many. Over 1.25 million people died of TB worldwide in 2023, as per the latest WHO Global TB Report 2024. Every TB death is a reminder that we could have done better to prevent, find, treat TB and support those dealing with the disease.
If people are facing barriers in accessing public services, then why cannot public services go to the people instead? It is critically important for public health and social support services to go closer to the communities and serve them - so as to find TB early, treat them promptly, stop the spread of infection, reduce the risk of untimely deaths, and also help needy people avoid catastrophic costs and diagnostic delays.
We can only be on the track towards ending TB if we are finding, treating and preventing all TB - especially among those who are at a very high risk of it. And we have to do it in a people-centred, rights-based and gender transformative manner. Failure to do so will move us on a wrong track, further away from ending TB.
With technological advancements (and a lot of them are made in India), there is no excuse now to not take laboratories and healthcare services closer to the communities, or even at their doorsteps, in a people-centred and rights-based manner.
Integrated health and development responses are key
Homeless and migrant people in urban cities have higher rates of not just TB but also alarmingly high levels of malnutrition - which is the biggest risk factor for TB too. Other TB risk factors are also high in key and other vulnerable populations for TB.
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