News | TB-free World

IAVI Acquires Aeras TB Vaccine Clinical Programs and Assets
BioSpace, October 1, 2018

The deadliest infectious disease is becoming drug-resistant
Vox, September 28, 2018

Tuberculosis Became The Fifth Health Issue To Get A High-Level UN Meeting. It Didn’t Go Very Well.
Huffington Post, September 27, 2018

Eradicating TB: Governments must work together within a clear framework of accountability
The BMJ, 2018

Preventing tuberculosis among high-risk workers
The Lancet Global Health, September 24, 2018

Tuberculosis is curable? So why are so many people still dying from the disease?
Washington Post, September 18, 2018

WHO calls for urgent action to end TB
WHO Global TB Programme, September 18, 2018

To End TB, First-Ever High-Level Meeting on TB Must Address Stigma
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, September 17, 2018

Message to world leaders: we cannot end tuberculosis without addressing the social and economic burden of the disease
The Lancet Global Health, September 14, 2018

Nandita beat the odds – twice. After becoming ill with TB at the age of 17, she contracted it again and lost her hearing two days after her 24th birthday. This time, her doctors gave her little to no chance of living, with medicines failing to be effective. She went through six surgeries and had more than 200 injections. When asked what kept her motivated to fight, she replied, “I wanted to conquer the bacteria rather than the other way around.” And she did.

One battle that Nandita knew she would face was stigma. Her first doctor strictly warned her not to tell anyone about her diagnosis. So, as a teenager with TB she thought it was her fault and having to hide it considerably dented her confidence. When people started to find out that she was ill, some of them would say things such as she was the victim of a poor upbringing. Now, in talking to others about stigma, Nandita declares that stigma often leads to self-stigma, which ultimately leads to fear. She urges people with TB to reject this fear and become an advocate for themselves and for their care. Nandita stresses the importance of educating one’s self about the disease and clarify any doubts with a doctor.

When turning to the question of what world leaders can do to end TB, the fighter in Nandita is evident. She calls upon India to spend more resources on public health, particularly TB given that India has the highest number of TB cases in the world; rope in private healthcare to increase the number of notifications; and provide counseling for patients, particularly on finances. Nandita’s family was forced to sell its flat to pay for her medical bills.

Nandita’s message to world leaders is simple: “Every decision you make affects the life of millions like me irreversibly, so it’s imperative that survivors ARE involved in policymaking and decision-making. The worldview of someone who has seen the disease first-hand would give tremendous inputs to target change in the right direction.”