TB survivors release report identifying key issues patients face

Ahead of the World TB Day, a community of tuberculosis survivors here has released a report in which they have identified and analysed key issues that impact the patients suffering from the disease.

They have also come out with recommendations on tackling TB.

The 'Tuberculosis - India's Ticking Time Bomb: The Survivors' Manifesto' has been introduced by Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director General, World Health Organisation (WHO) and edited by Chapal Mehra, convener of The Survivors Against TB (SATB) group.

"For the first time, survivors and patients have identified issues that matter to us and are relevant for addressing TB. We have the lived experience of surviving TB and know the challenges within the system. This manifesto both identifies key problems and provides solutions from our perspective, says Keyuri Bhanushali, a copywriter and TB survivor who contributed to this volume.

The volume is divided into eight chapters and examines varied aspects of TB in India from diagnosis and treatment to poverty, communications and private sector, a statement issued by SATB said.

Each chapter begins with the author's own story of battling TB, links it to the focus area and then provides analysis and solutions, the statement said.

Until now, patients have been limited to being merely the recipients of care. We need to be engaged in imagining and designing the care we need and want. This volume sets forth an unambiguous manifestosuggesting solutions that can be implemented by the state for us, says Deepti Chavan, an MDR TB survivor and patient advocate.

The book is available electronically and in print.

According to a government estimates, India accounts for one fourth of the global TB burden. In 2015, an estimated 28 lakh cases occurred and 4.8 lakh people died due to TB.