State of Tuberculosis: Assessing the Impact of Insufficient Funding and Health Disparities on Control Efforts in India
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Mentor Information
Dr. Holly Donahue Singh
Description
Tuberculosis (TB) is a prevalent bacterial infection in public health contexts that is currently the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. Alarmingly, out of the 10.6 million incident cases of TB reported in 2022, India accounts for 28% of the global burden. With these endemic rates, India has attempted to eradicate the disease with the National TB Elimination program, which aims to fund and organize a national campaign to link the Indian government and private health infrastructure with the disease elimination agenda in mind. With centers now having proper equipment, drugs, and treatment courses that typically last 6-8 weeks, poverty-stricken and rural areas are afflicted due to the increasing rates of health disparities present. The lack of access to proper care, dispensation of drugs, lengthened diagnostic/treatment times, and overall stigma and misinformation due the lack of funding has contributed to the outbreak of antibiotic resistant forms of TB, making it more expensive and difficult to combat. Our study aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review of the status of TB in India and evaluate how insufficient funding and health disparities impact the efforts to address and control the spread of the infection. With this analysis, future directions can be reviewed on what directives should be made to change the direction of the growing progression of TB cases in India.
State of Tuberculosis: Assessing the Impact of Insufficient Funding and Health Disparities on Control Efforts in India
Tuberculosis (TB) is a prevalent bacterial infection in public health contexts that is currently the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. Alarmingly, out of the 10.6 million incident cases of TB reported in 2022, India accounts for 28% of the global burden. With these endemic rates, India has attempted to eradicate the disease with the National TB Elimination program, which aims to fund and organize a national campaign to link the Indian government and private health infrastructure with the disease elimination agenda in mind. With centers now having proper equipment, drugs, and treatment courses that typically last 6-8 weeks, poverty-stricken and rural areas are afflicted due to the increasing rates of health disparities present. The lack of access to proper care, dispensation of drugs, lengthened diagnostic/treatment times, and overall stigma and misinformation due the lack of funding has contributed to the outbreak of antibiotic resistant forms of TB, making it more expensive and difficult to combat. Our study aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review of the status of TB in India and evaluate how insufficient funding and health disparities impact the efforts to address and control the spread of the infection. With this analysis, future directions can be reviewed on what directives should be made to change the direction of the growing progression of TB cases in India.
