The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: The Hamster Wheel of Poverty and Cost of Tuberculosis Care
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is declared to be held annually on October 17th, by the UN General Assembly (UNGA), to acknowledge the struggle of people living in poverty, provide a platform to make their concerns heard and recognise their effort to fight against poverty. The significance of this day lies in its focus on the multifaceted nature of poverty which extends beyond only lack of income. The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty opens the dialogue on the lack of fundamental human rights needed to live with dignity encompassing inadequate and unsafe housing, food insecurity, limited access to healthcare, unsafe working conditions, inequalities in judicial and political power.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises poverty as a powerful social determinant of tuberculosis linking it to risk factors of the disease, such as crowded and poorly ventilated living and working environments, malnutrition and limited access to healthcare often associated with poverty and contributes to tuberculosis transmission. In a conversation with Nature, Dr. Madhukar Pai, epidemiologist and TB expert at McGill University, said “Wherever there is poverty within a country, TB will find such people”. Therefore, the alleviation of poverty is crucial in reducing the risk of tuberculosis transmission and the risk of progression from infection to active disease.
TB PPM community is continuously engaging in dialogues and knowledge sharing to address the tuberculosis risk factors linked to poverty, offering their unique perspective and experiences from working in high-burden countries. In a recent webinar on Rural TB Care, speakers discussed several challenges regarding diagnosis, treatment and social stigma in rural TB care in India, Nigeria and Bangladesh, which often affects the poorer segments population of the country.
They emphasized the crucial role of informal healthcare providers in bridging the gap between marginalized communities and access to TB care. Since informal providers are often the first point of contact for TB patients, recognizing and integrating them into national TB programs can lead to improved TB care and reduced transmission in rural areas at the primary healthcare level. However, the out-of-pocket costs to access these services remain a significant concern.
In the upcoming webinar titled “Out-of-pocket costs – burden on people seeking care in the private sector”, the TB PPM community will come together to explore the out-of-pocket expenditures of people seeking care in the private sector. This discussion aims to identify gaps and opportunities to achieve better TB services for patients while reducing their out-of-pocket costs.