India has an ambitious strategic five-year plan to control TB which plans to find, treat, prevent and build for TB control on a massive scale. However, the plan ignores the fact that most Indians affected by TB do not seek care under the government health program. Even the poorest prefer to pay and go to the private sector because they perceive it as efficient and accessible. They land up in the public sector only later, often penniless and much sicker. That most TB-affected people need efficient care with dignity and respect has escaped India’s health program planners. Meanwhile, the incidence of drug-resistant TB continues to escalate.

Chapel Mehra, Huffington Post India, March 23, 2018.

URL: www.huffingtonpost.in/chapal-mehra/why-the-existing-support-and-awareness-around-tb-in-india-is-not-enough-for-patients_a_23390892/?ncid=NEWSSTAND0010