Reporting on Tuberculosis from Across India
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REPORTING ON TUBERCULOSIS FROM ACROSS INDIA A third compendium REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Media Fellowship Programme 2014-15 REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Media Fellowship Programme Every day, almost one thousand people die of TB in India. Despite being a preventable and treatable disease, tuberculosis remains a major public health challenge and India bears the highest TB burden in the world. There is a growing concern about the increase in cases of drug-resistant TB and its subsequent social and economic impact on society. All of this is compounded by a general lack of awareness of TB and its consequences—most of all, that TB is completely curable if timely and high-quality diagnosis and treatment can be accessed. The media has a powerful role to play in informing the public about prevention and control of TB in India. Accurate, sensitive, effective and timely journalism can improve public understanding of TB, increase access to TB services and dispel the many myths and misconceptions that persist about the disease. Since 2009, the REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Media Initiative has worked closely with journalists across India to improve the quality and frequency of media reporting on TB. The Fellowship Programme The Media Fellowships were constituted in 2010 to provide working journalists from local language newspapers and magazines across India with support to undertake in-depth analysis of various aspects of TB. These fellowships are intended to encourage journalists to explore TB as a critical public health concern, by identifying and telling stories that have remained untold. In the years since its inception, 50 journalists from across the country have written over 180 stories on a range of TB-related issues, and in multiple languages. support to a senior journalist from any national newspaper, with the objective of improving media focus on TB-related issues at the national and policy levels. In the two years since, senior journalists, Dr Prasad of The Hindu and Dr Radheshyam Jadhav of The Times of India have written 40 stories on childhood TB and urban TB respectively. This compendium brings together a selection of stories by our 2014-15 Fellows. 1 Fellows 2014-15 National Fellowship Dr Radheshyam Jadhav REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Assistant Editor, The Times of India, Pune, Maharashtra Media Fellowship Programme Local Language Fellowships 2014-15 FELLOWS Dev Vyas, Freelancer, Jodhpur, Rajasthan Avinash Rawat, Senior Reporter, Dainik Bhaskar, Indore, Madhya Pradesh AVINASH RAWAT DEVKINANDAN VYAS V G GEETHA JHILAM KARANJAI Geetha PT, Jhilam Karanjai, Senior Correspondent, Ei Samay (TOI), Kolkata, West Bengal PRADIP KUMAR SRIVASTAV PRAVEEN PRABHAKAR MONORANJAN BORI Monuranjan Bori, Sub-editor, Dainik Janambhumi, Guwahati, Assam Pradip Srivastava, Senior sub-editor, Amar Ujala, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh RAJIV PANDEY ROHIT PRASAD VERMA SAJIL C Ten journalists from across India were awarded the REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Praveen Prabhakar, Media Fellowship for 2014-15 after a competitive evaluation process. In all, over 40 applications were received from experienced journalists across the country. All those chosen as Fellows attended a two-day intensive orientation programme in Chennai, meeting scientists, learning about TB, and brainstorming on story ideas. On returning Rajiv Kumar Pandey, to their newsrooms, each Fellow identified TB-related themes specifically relevant to City Reporter, Prabhat Khabar, Ranchi, Jharkhand his or her local readers, whether in Madhya Pradesh or in Assam. Over a three-month Fellowship period, ten Fellows researched and published over forty stories exploring Rohit Verma, different aspects of TB. Sub-editor, Rajasthan Patrika, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Sajil C, Sub-editor, Mathrubhumi Aarogyamasika, Calicut, Kerala 2 The Fellowship Process A call for applications to the Local Language Fellowship Programme is announced in August every year, inviting applications from Indian journalists who either work with or are associated with (in a freelance capacity) any local language newspaper (i.e. other than English); and who have demonstrated interest and an ability in reporting on health issues. This year we received over 40 applications from across the country; ten Fellows were chosen after a careful and rigorous evaluation. All chosen Fellows receive Rs 30,000 to support any related travel and research expenses. Over a period of three months, Fellows are responsible for researching and producing a minimum of three in-depth stories on a TB-related theme or issue. All Fellows attend an orientation workshop in Chennai, Tuberculosis Control Programme in India, challenges in TB control and also learn to interpret data and On returning to their respective newsrooms, they are expected to identify TB-related issues that are announced in April every year. For more information on the Fellowships, please visit www.media4tb.org 3 STORY RADHESHYAM JADHAV 4 RADHESHYAM JADHAV STORY 5 STORY AVINASH RAWAT | > CONCERN 3 ^ ^ ^ > ^ 6 AVINASH RAWAT TRANSLATION TB patients dying daily due to lack of nutrition Meant to Get Ration Worth Rs.50/- daily The rule to give TB patients nutritious food along with medication is being ignored in the region. Here, patients are given nothing in the name of nutritious food, whereas they are supposed to get Rs. 50/- for this every day. Patients Get No Ration Despite Provisions Irony: TB patients not getting support of nutritious food Deaths are taking place almost every day in Indore due to TB patients not getting nutritious food. 38-year-old Ramsingh Kushvah, who lives in Samver Road industrial area suffers from TB. He gets medicines free of cost from the government. 42-year-old Govind, But merely free medicine is not enough to treat TB. To become healthy, they need a nutritious diet along with the medication. But it is the breadwinners of the family who themselves have fallen prey to the disease. Taking the medication regularly affects their capacity to work as they don’t get nutritious food. Thousands of patients like Ramsingh, Govind and Amit are struggling because of lack of a nutritious diet. Ignoring nutrition Every year the government spends crores of rupees providing free medicine to TB patients, but ignores the need to provide nutritious food which is necessary for them to become healthy again. There are provisions in the region for giving patients ration worth Rs.30/- in ESI TB hospitals and ration worth Rs. 50/- in MY and other hospitals. This means that patients are meant to be served a meal one time worth Rs.15/- in ESI hospitals and Rs.30/- in MY and other hospitals. It is essential to take fruits, milk, green vegetables and other healthy food along with a normal diet. Nutritious diet essential “Along with completing their course of medication, it is extremely essential for TB patients to have a nutritious diet.” – Dr. Sanjay Vaidya, Superintendent, ESI TB Hospital 7 TRANSLATIoN AVINASH RAWAT matter.” – Narottam Mishra, Health Minister Every month there are more than a dozen deaths in Indore due to TB. Many provisions in other regions There are various similar schemes in operation in Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and Delhi. In Tamilnadu, homeless TB patients are given Rs.1000/- per month. No separate facility for patients’ food “There is no separate facility for providing food for TB patients. When they get admitted to the hospital, they are given the same rations as other patients in the hospital. They have to look after their own food requirements.” – Dr. Sharad Pandit, Joint Director No provision from administration “Medication is available free of cost for TB patients, but no provisions related to giving them ration have been made. While patients are 8 DEV VyAS SToRY 9 TRANSLATIoN DEV VyAS Mining TB from Mines Unsafe mining: Mine owners prosper, WorKers suffer The sandstone mines situated in the city and nearby areas may be showering mine owners with riches, but for the workers who work here, they are a cause of life threatening diseases like TB and Silicosis. The situation is such that neither the Mining Division nor the medical authorities are paying attention to this. The result is that unsafe mining conditions are claiming the lives of mine workers. Hard working mine workers always work with the shadow of a possible accident looming large. The workers of this mine have fallen prey to TB and Silicosis. The government has not created any welfare scheme for the workers working in deep mines, and neither have they been included as a part of any other schemes. What is surprising is the fact that a few years ago the government gave mine owners a directive to get these workers insured, but due to lack of monitoring, this was never carried out. Most workers remain devoid of this facility even today. Treatment being given assuming tb It is now common for mine workers to suffer from Silicosis, but the symptoms of Silicosis and TB are similar. Under such circumstances, even doctors fail to recognize this at the primary stage. Often the treatment for TB is even started off. Though a few years ago, after the intervention of the Supreme Court and Human Rights Commission some mine workers were given health checkups, this too because of not getting treatment on time, some of them have died. Waiting for a scheme…. There are various schemes for unorganized labourers created by the state as well as central government, but it is unfortunate for mine workers that there is no scheme for their welfare at all. In 2007-2008, the “Vishvakarma Pension Contributory Scheme” was place in this list as well. No Insurance done… There are around 6102 mines listed in Jodhpur district. There are more than 30,000 labourers and workers employed in these mines. For their safety, the Mining Division had directed the owners of all these mines to get these employees and workers insured.