Tajikistan

Zulfia receives counseling and support to help her deal with her understand her  husband's and daughter's TB treatment.

Takhir had been sick for a while, but as the sole breadwinner of his family, he had ignored his symptoms. “He was concerned that the cost of treatment  would reduce his income, and he would not be able to feed our children,"  Zulfia explained.

But one morning, his body finally gave out. “Takhir could not even get up and go to work,” Zulfia said. In a panic, Zulfia ran to the district doctor. That same day, Takhir was hospitalized. Takhir was treated in the hospital but the family was still responsible for providing him with food and clothes. Fortunately, because of the established TB program in Tajikistan, most of the medicines turned out to be free of charge and Takhir did not have to pay for his numerous laboratory tests. The most difficult part of the treatment was hiding the disease from his neighbors and relatives. In Tajikistan, TB is stigmatized and the families with TB patients are subjected to condemnation.

Thanks to well-trained medical professional, Takhir improved. He came back home and finished his treatment under the direct observation of a district doctor.

But a few months later, Zulfia’s family faced another challenge when her 15-year-old daughter, Dilya, developed a persistent cough. The district doctor suspected Dilya also had TB. For Zulfia, this diagnosis was even more upsetting than her husband’s. If the other villagers found out that Dilya contracted TB, she risked losing the chance to be married. “Nobody would want to marry a young girl with a history of TB illness,” Zulfia said. So she made a decision to hide her daughter’s sickness from everybody and instead,  try to cure her daughter with all the available medicines they had at home.

And  Zulfia no longer keeps silent about TB. “Now, I know that TB is a curable disease. The brightest examples are my husband and my daughter. I often visit neighbors and relatives. If I see someone ill or coughing I advise to go to see the doctor,” she said.

Zulfia emphasizes the importance of seeking medical attention early, and tries to comfort those she educates with personal experience. “I always say that it is better to get treatment early. I let them know that all TB drugs are free of charge and most importantly is that you should not be confused or scared,” she said. “People believe me because they know about my sufferings.”

Turkmenistan

 

Project HOPE continues to train health care workers in Turkmenistan in the best practices for diagnosing and treating curable TB.

Sometimes people don’t know what to do. They think they have nowhere to go. A helping hand can change all that. Meet Amanguliyev.  Amanguliyev was referred to clinic to be checked for possible TB. His TB diagnosis was confirmed and he was immediately prescribed an out-patient treatment regimen to cure his illness. But Amanguliyev was depressed and did not care about his own health. He refused to stick to his treatment regimen and sometimes he would vanish and not even the local police could summon him back for regular treatment.

“I have been in despair,” Amanguliyev told his doctor. “I do not see a way out of my situation, and I feel useless for anyone.” Amanguliyev told his doctor he was just “waiting for the end.”

But Amanguliyev's doctors did not give up.He was admitted to a TB Hospital of Akhal Velayat in the settlement of Dushak. What happened in the hospital turned his whole life around. Amanguliyev met a girl who also was undergoing treatment for TB. She told him that she used to think the same way as he- that TB was incurable. She also confided that she was once ashamed to confess to anyone that she had TB, because people would turn away from her if they knew that she had been sick. At first, she said she did not want to be treated for  TB because she did not believe in success. But her family doctor persuaded her to be treated and convinced her she could once again have a healthy life. She agreed to follow the treatment protocol and told Amanguliyev she was feeling much better.

Amanguliyev took another look at his own situation. The new hope he had been given by his new friend helped him to become disciplined and to adhere to the treatment regimen. Now Amanguliyev is unrecognizable to his old self. By sticking to his treatment regimen, Amanguliyev was cured of TB, but more importantly, his despair with his life's situation has disappeared. He is back engaging in life and working a good job.

Amanguliyev credits his new lease on life to properly performed treatment and caring individual attention from well-trained medical workers who were there for the patient facing a daunting challenge.

Malawi
Making sure needed medications are available and convenient are vital to successful TB treatment. Read this mother's story.