Black Angels remind us of centuries of injustices plaguing the TB response
SHOBHA SHUKLA, BOBBY RAMAKANT - CNS
"Death from TB is caused by human choice. It is caused by human-built systems. And so that is terrifying and horrifying and deeply upsetting. It means we are not doing a good job of assigning equal value to every human life," had said the famous American author John Green at a panel discussion during United Nations General Assembly last year.
This is so very true. What else will explain 10.8 million people suffering with TB disease last year when we had the tools and evidence to prevent every single case of TB transmission? What will explain 1.1 million people dying of TB last year when we have the best of tools to diagnose, treat and care for those with TB?
TB is a sad but real story of inequity and injustice. We conveniently refer to it as a 'disease of the poor' but shy away from saying the truth- that those who enjoy privileges, rights, entitlements and live a life free from hunger, poverty, homelessness and other forms of discriminations, are much less vulnerable to TB. It is the inequity that puts people at risk of TB. It is the social injustices that deny them timely and accurate diagnosis, deny them the best of treatments, deny them social support and security that puts them at heightened risk of TB and even TB death (along with a range of other human rights abuses and violations).
These injustices have been existing since times immemorial and have played a big role in damping the TB response.
Ela Gandhi, a South African peace activist who fought against apartheid with Nelson Mandela and others and was a Member of Parliament of South Africa from 1994 to2004 (she is also the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi), said that while she was reading about the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (bacterium that causes TB) in 1882, she realised it mentions that TB killed one out of every seven people living in the USA and Europe in those days.
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