It was a heart wrenching home visit for the ChildFund team, when we first saw Dilip crawling on his hands and legs. He became severely malnourished and could barely stand. He had given up all hope of leading a normal life.
Dilip’s story had not been like this before. It was in 2018 when his health started to deteriorate and in 2019 it turned from bad to worse.
Before 2018, Dilip earned to meet his family’s expenses and but could hardly save any money. He’s had a hard life, but he carried out all his responsibilities with a smile. He owned a small piece of land where he grew few vegetables for the family.
When Dilip started to fall sick, he tried various home remedies and visited private clinics, but without a proper diagnosis his condition got worse. Despite his bad health and the need to
rest at home, he continued working to provide for his family. In a few weeks’ time, he was unable to get up from the bed and his wife had to feed him.
It was when ChildFund intervened, he was taken to a government hospital and was diagnosed with TB. Dilip was linked with the government sponsored TB elimination program and was put on proper medication. Before the start of the treatment, he weighed less than 55 kgs. In TB patients, losing weight and lack of adequate rest is a challenge especially for the bread winners of the family.
To combat this, ChildFund provided him with nutritional baskets (a well-balanced food kit) under project MUKTI (Nikshay Parta), supported by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the Central TB Division (MoHFW), the Government of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and implemented by IPE Global.
It was ensured that Dilip participate in counselling sessions, activities like PD sessions, medication follow-up and consumption of nutritional food. He was also linked with the government DBT program which assured that he received financial assistance directly into his bank account.
Today, Dilip is completely cured, weighs 64 kgs and can earn a living. His journey has made him concerned about people losing their lives due to TB. Dilip’s story is a burning example for other people suffering from TB that it is curable with proper medication supplemented with nutritional food and care.
In India, there are many people like Dilip, whose lives have turned upside down due to TB. Despite the provision of free medication and other assistance, they are still struggling to survive. People from the underprivileged communities who lack the access and knowledge, suffer the most. They must continue working even when their bodies give up.
To reach the last mile successfully, there is a dire need of such initiatives and interventions in the TB affected areas across India.
