Report: Tuberculosis – Voices in the fight against the European epidemic
A report seeking to reenergise the fight against TB by telling the human side of the disease
The TB Europe Coalition and the ACTION Project are giving TB a ‘human face’ in their report ‘Tuberculosis – Voices in the fight against the European epidemic’ by looking behind the statistics to focus on the every-day challenges faced by TB patients and their carers in the WHO Europen Region. TB is a global epidemic, causing devastating loss of life and hampering economic productivity. It is also a European problem, where TB rates have been on the rise over the past few decades.
This report seeks to reenergise the fight against TB by telling the human side of the disease; giving a voice to the individuals and communities who have long been represented in numbers and figures. In these pages, patients, doctors, advocates and healthcare workers from seven European countries – Georgia, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, UK and Ukraine – tell of their experiences.
“TB takes people out of the workforce and puts them into a state of poverty. They are not just faceless statistics, they are mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and they are suffering.” – Jonathan Stillo, medical anthropologist, Romania
Those interviewed address the need to sustain political will and financial investment as well as emphasizing how much work still needs to be done closer to home.
TB Europe Coalition
