Community-Based TB Treatment in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh


Overview

Moradabad is a mid-sized city of roughly 650,000 located on the banks of the Ramganga River, just over 100 miles outside of New Delhi.  Known locally as Peetal Nagri, or “Brass City”, it is renowned for its highly skilled artisans who produce beautiful and intricate brass handicrafts.

Moradabad is also known for the poverty of much of its population. Tuberculosis incidence is high; especially in the crowded slums where access to treatment is severely limited. The predominantly Muslim population is underserved by the existing TB treatment programs. Local clinics fill the gap by providing sporadic treatment at a high cost for the patient. Patients suffering from TB may never be correctly diagnosed or may get caught in a viscious cycle of continually starting and stopping treatment as they cannot afford to pay for the required 6 month course of drugs.

In Moradabad, government sponsored medication is free of charge, but patients continue to die as there are an insufficient number of public treatment centers. Prajnopaya Foundation and Operation ASHA are working with the Moradabad TB control program to bring their successful community-based TB model to Moradabad’s poor.  We have opened 8 treatment centers in Moradabad that provide treatment for roughly 600 patients per year. Counsellors have been recruited from among the community and are provided full-time employment.  The treatment centers are strategically located within the densely populated slums to be within a 10 minute walk of the patients' homes.

More Support Is Needed

The commnity-based TB treatment model has improved patients' access to care, reduced the cost of treatment, and saved lives.  Medicine is provided free of charge by the government.  However, the start-up and operational costs for each center need to be provided by Prajnopaya for the first two years.  After two years of successful operation, a government grant is available to support the center thereafter.

Please consider supporting this program and making a direct impact on someone's life.  More information on how you can help is provided below.


How You Can Contribute

 

Type of Sponsorship

Amount

What you provide

Support a Patient*

$20

Covers full 6-8 month treatment for a single patient.

Run a Center

(1 month)

$120

Covers treatment center expenses for 1 month, serving around 40 patients.

Run a Center

(1 year)

$1,440

Covers treatment center expenses for 1 year, saving approximately 80 lives.

Found a Center

$3,800

Fully establishes a permanent treatment center, saving approximately 80 lives per year.  Government grant covers operating expenses in perpetuity after two years of operation.  Center can be founded in the name of the sponsor.

*The cost per patient does not include medicine or hospital and diagnostic services. In the present program, these are currently covered by the Indian National Tuberculosis Control Program.