TB patients in India still burdened despite free treatment- Study
By Abujah Racheal
In spite of receiving free treatment under India’s National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), tuberculosis (TB) patients in Arunachal Pradesh, in the Northeastern part of the country, continue to face significant financial hardships.
This was contained in a new study by Dr Nagaraja Rao, a scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR-NIRT).
The study was titled, “Economic Burden Among Drug-Sensitive TB Patients Treated in the Public Sector Under the National TB Elimination Programme in India”.
It was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Rao said that the study highlighted critical gaps in the implementation of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme meant to provide nutritional support to TB patientsu.
He said that the study was conducted across 12 districts of Arunachal Pradesh between October 2022 and March 2023.
“The research found out that over 44 per cent of TB patients experienced catastrophic health expenditures, defined as out-of-pocket expenses exceeding 20 per cent of their annual household income, ” he said.
He said that while the NTEP provided anti-TB medicines and diagnostics free of cost, patients still incur significant non-medical expenses such as travel, nutritional supplements and lost income due to the disease.
He said that although the DBT scheme was a valuable initiative, delays in payments and a lack of patient awareness have hampered its effectiveness.
“Only 81 per cent of eligible patients reported receiving at least one instalment of DBT, and many said that the funds arrived late or were insufficient to meet their needs,” he said.
He said that the findings underscored the need for strengthened implementation of DBT schemes and tailored interventions to support TB-affected households, particularly in remote and underserved areas like Arunachal Pradesh.
“The World Health Organisation recommends that no TB-affected household should suffer financial hardship due to the disease.
“However, this study suggests that India is still far from meeting that goal, especially in its northeastern frontier regions,” he said.
India bears a significant portion of the global TB burden, with an estimated 2.77 million new cases and 0.32 million deaths in 2022.
The country’s high TB incidence is partly due to its large population, diverse socioeconomic conditions, and varying healthcare infrastructure.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman
