Tuberculosis creates ‘village of widows’ in central India

NEW DELHI

With so many men succumbing to tuberculosis – an infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs – Majhera in Shivpuri district of the central Indian province of Madhya Pradesh has become a "village of widows."

Like many other unfortunate residents, Manu Bai, 32, Rani, 40, and Savitri Bai, 47, have all lost their husbands to tuberculosis.

As the world observes World Tuberculosis Day on Thursday, health activists say the village has witnessed 83 deaths due to tuberculosis cases over the past few years.

Inhabited by the Saharia tribe, who earn their livelihood by working in stone quarries around the village, health activists say most of them inhale dust particles throughout the day, which affect their lungs.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India accounts for one-third of the total reported cases of tuberculosis in the world every year. As many as 480,000 people die annually in the country due to lung diseases.

Health workers say that a more worrisome trend is that there has been an unprecedented drop in the number of reported cases of tuberculosis at both private and government hospitals due to the increased focus on the COVID-19. They said that reported cases have declined by almost half.

Uma Chaturvedi, an activist working with tribal communities, said Saharia tribal miners living in the Majhera village neither get full wages nor medical treatment or enough food for their living.

“Life is very difficult for them. They work in illegal mines for a living. In the absence of a proper diet, they easily fall in the grip of diseases like TB and die due to a lack of treatment,” she said.

According to Chaturvedi, there are many government schemes for these tribals but their benefits have not reached them.

Free medicines are available for the treatment of the disease at government hospitals, but it is not easy to reach them.

“It is difficult for these people to even get two square meals a day,” said KS Mishra, a social worker who has been working for a long time in Madhya Pradesh.

“Even if they bring medicines, they do not have the desired effect due to the lack of a proper diet. They have to pay the price for their carelessness in taking medicines and endanger their own lives,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Prabhuram Choudhary said his government is committed to providing better health facilities to these people.

“We endeavor to provide better health facilities to these people, so we are running many schemes in that area. The exploitation of tribals will not be tolerated in any way and the government will see how we can help them,” he said.