Addressing gender inequity to eradicate TB in India

Pritha Roy Choudhury, CNS Correspondent, India

Rajni, the 19 year old  girl who helps us with the domestic chores, suffers from some physical disability. She cannot walk properly. Hailing from a financially challenged family, her father drives a rickshaw while her mother contributes to the household income by ironing clothes. She and her two sisters work as domestic helps.

People with asthma can lead a normal life

Pritha Roy Choudhury, CNS Correspondent, India

Oh No! Not another attack again! Keshav (name changed) felt a tightness in his chest that pulled him down to the chair. It was 7:45 in the morning and by this time he should have been at the metro station to reach office by time for a meeting scheduled for 10:45 am. The intensity of the attacks are increasing these days, he murmured. Keshav had missed taking his inhalation as the drug that he uses to control the asthma attack is not easily available.

Protecting people from tobacco is a public health imperative

Pritha Roy Choudhury, CNS Correspondent, India

A chance meeting with Rosalina Diengdoh (name changed), a 50 year old woman  from the north eastern state of Meghalaya in India, who is in Delhi for the treatment of her son, reaffirmed my doubts regarding the impact of pictorial warnings on packed tobacco products to dissuade people from using the same. It was in April 2016, after a two year battle, that the Indian government  finally acceded to quadruple in size the graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging.

India needs to work aggressively to combat MDR-TB

Pritha Roy Choudhury, CNS Correspondent, India

TB has been, and still is, a global menace. With nearly one-third of the population infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, TB is now killing more people each year than HIV, with Asia and Africa contributing to the maximum number of fatalities. As per the latest treatment regimen available, the treatment period for MDR-TB has been halved from the current 24 months to 9-12 months, thus not only reducing the cost of treatment but also improving adherence and hence upping the cure rate.

Curbing Tobacco Usage: Call of the hour

Pritha Roy Choudhury, CNS Correspondent, India

A narrow lane leads us to a poorly lit small dingy room of a four storied building in the suburbs of Delhi. Veer Prakash is lying in a cot, coughing on and off. His wife Lila Devi dusts two small stools in a corner and arranges them for us to sit. “His cough has aggravated with time, the medicines are costly.

Addressing asthma is a big challenge

Pritha Roy Choudhury, CNS Correspondent, India
This is the fourth day this week that Ashmi has been absent from school. A student of Class 4, Ashmi has been performing very well and has been an academic achiever for the third consecutive year. Mrs Hemvat, her class teacher is really worried— “She is not only a bright student but also is a very active child who takes part in most of the activities. But this year she has been absent most of the days.” Ashmi has been suffering from breathing problems for the past two years, but the problem has increased this year.