TB took Dilip's life by storm. With ChildFund India's support, he lived to tell the tale.

Dilip and his family.

Meet Dilip: a dad and farmer in India who grows vegetables on a small plot of land and works hard to provide for his family. For most of his life, he thought of himself as a fairly healthy person.

But in 2018, Dilip’s health suddenly began to decline. He began experiencing mysterious symptoms – chronic coughing, fevers, chest pain, fatigue – and losing weight rapidly.

At first, Dilip tried various home remedies and visited private clinics to try to feel better. Without a proper diagnosis, however, he wasn’t sure what to do to improve his situation – so he continued working to provide for his family, despite his exhaustion.

By 2019, things had turned from bad to worse. Dilip had become severely malnourished and could no longer walk. Unable to get out of bed without crawling on his hands and knees, he had to rely on his wife to help him with basic activities like eating and dressing. He gave up hope of leading a normal life.

“I still remember those days when I could see my days coming to an end,” Dilip says.

The state TB in India

When ChildFund staff learned of Dilip’s condition, they referred him to a government hospital, where he was officially diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).

TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It primarily affects the lungs but, it left untreated, it can also spread to other parts of the body, such as the brain, kidneys and spine. 

In recent years, India has made significant strides in the fight to ensure early detection and treatment of TB. These efforts, along with a host of community engagement efforts, have resulted in a 16% decline in new cases and an 18% decline in TB-related deaths since 2015. Even so, the disease remains a leading cause of death in India.

Poverty and poor nutrition are closely intertwined factors associated with poor TB outcomes, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated poverty and food insecurity in India and around the world.

In March 2020, just as the COVID-19 lockdown began, ChildFund India piloted an innovative pay-for-performance program to improve the nutrition of TB patients in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, where Dilip lives. ChildFund India’s MUKTI program, which means “delivery from harm,” was rolled out in collaboration with the Central TB Division (MoHFW) and the Government of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and implemented by IPE Global. Its goal: to ensure that TB patients gained adequate weight and completed their course treatment.

Fighting TB in India

Through the MUKTI program, ChildFund India connected Dilip to a government-sponsored TB elimination program, where he was prescribed antibiotics to fight the disease.

In TB patients, losing weight due to lack of adequate nutrition and rest is a major challenge, especially for the breadwinners of the family. In fact, before starting treatment, Dilip weighed a mere 120 pounds.

To combat this, ChildFund provided him with six nutrient-rich food baskets over time. Dilip was also encouraged to participate in health counseling sessions to ensure he was sticking to a nutritious diet and regularly taking his medication. Finally, ChildFund connected him to a government program to help the family receive financial assistance throughout the duration of his illness.

Today, Dilip is completely cured, weighs 140 pounds and can earn a living again.

“ChildFund’s intervention to provide proper medication – and the financial support, nutritional baskets, and the firm commitment of my family – helped me to bounce back,” he says.

He wasn’t the only one. By the end of the MUKTI project’s first phase, 1,000 people had overcome the disease with ChildFund’s support.

In India, there are many people like Dilip whose lives have been turned upside-down due to TB. Despite the provision of free medication and other assistance, they still struggle to survive.

People from underprivileged communities who lack access to knowledge of the disease suffer the most. Even when their bodies give up, they are forced to keep working. That’s why initiatives like MUKTI are so direly needed in TB-affected areas across India.