Poor nutrition emerges as a silent killer in fight against TB

ADEQUATE NUTRITION COMPLEMENTS TB TREATMENT BUT GOVT SCHEMES FAIL TO MEET THIS BASIC NEED

- Rupsa Chakraborty

MUMBAI: A 32-year-old woman from a Worli slum is battling tuberculosis (TB) for the second time. A few months ago, she was diagnosed with drug-resistant TB—a more severe and harder-to-treat version of the disease.

She lacks a crucial component in her treatment regimen—one no doctor can provide. The truth is, adequate nutrition alone would greatly raise her chances of recovery. Studies have shown that malnutrition fuels deaths and drug resistance in TB patients, undermining efforts to treat patients with all forms of the disease. On the other hand, a nutrient-rich diet significantly enhances positive outcomes.

Part of the reason the woman is malnourished is that, for the last four months, she has not received the ₹1,000 monthly nutritional support under the government's Nikshay Poshan Yojana. The sum, recently doubled, is meant to help TB patients afford the bare essentials of a recovery-friendly diet.

"My monthly food expenses are around ₹2,000. So I skip the ₹700 protein powder prescribed by my doctor," she told HT.

A grim reality

The woman from the Worli slum was one of 2,800 people diagnosed with drug-resistant TB in Mumbai in 2024. That year, Mumbai recorded 60,051 TB cases—averaging 164 new cases diagnosed each day.