The World TB Day- 24th March 2008

The World TB Day- 24th March 2008
Latest Data Sheet- A Must Read for every Indian

Statistics- Scientific Facts:
India is the world’s TB Capital
India has an estimated 14 Million TB cases.
TB- the two letter word is a killer!
Estimated 1.9 Million new cases are added.
70% of these are detected and put on treatment
Undetected TB patients spread disease to 10-15 healthy people
6 lakhs Indians are not aware that they suffer from TB
Loss to the nation is estimated at Rs12, 000 Crores every year.
Reason? Absenteeism, loss of earnings, medical costs etc.
TB is caused by a germ called mycobacterium tuberculosis.
TB of lungs is more common, though it may affect any other part
Smoking aggravates the disease.
TB patients are prone to get HIV-AIDS

Symptoms
Persisting cough for 3 weeks and more, sometimes with blood streaked sputum
Fever especially at night
Lack of appetite
Loss in body weight
Loss in energy levels, immunity levels.

Action Plan
Consult a doctor without loss of time
If detected as TB, take regular and adequate medicines
Treatment span is about 6 to 8 months
TB drugs and treatment are FREE of charges in Govt hospitals/clinics
Drugs available in neighbourhood - Free
Take treatment regularly as directed by the doctor
If discontinued, it may turn into Drug Resistant TB- Difficult to cure.
Undetected and untreated TB patients spread TB to 10-15 healthy people
A period of quarantine may be needed in some cases.

What can people do?
Help Govt- NGOs in TB work as best as possible
Report cases known to you
Talk to family members, relatives and friends on TB- spread awareness
Take time off to visit slums-villages and spread the message.
Stress on continued treatment for the entire period to avoid Drug Resistant TB
Teachers in schools and colleges should tell the students about TB
Public debates- activities to spread the message may be taken.
Mass Media should be involved to spread awareness.
Contribute your mite in money and efforts for the cause.

Promoting factors
Health is not considered a felt-need- it is taken for granted.
Symptoms of TB are not known to people, especially villagers
Smoking is a regular habit for many
People disregard symptoms

Government and Community Action.
Creative Health awareness campaigns to get impact among all sections of people
Higher allocation of GDP for health
Better housing and sanitation
Slums should be removed with better housing
Effective population control
Better health disciplines, balanced diet and exercises
Provision of Health Educators for clusters of villages and slums
Effective restrictions on use of tobacco
Media should promote health awareness in their programmes

Support IDF
IDF is a Registered National NGO doing work for TB and other diseases
Get in touch with IDF – visit www.idf.org.in
Email to idfark@gmail.com – idfmumbai@gmail.com, idfchennai@gmail.com, idfkarnataka@gmail.com, idfjaipur@gmail.com
What is Indian Development Foundation (IDF) ?
IDF has 120 Associate Hospitals and Projects spread out in India
IDF has a large team of Volunteers and a few Social Ambassadors
IDF is a self-supporting NGO, depending on public donations for work
IDF is in its 25 years of national service.
IDF welcomes your valuable support in cash and kind
IDF has 80-G facility for donors
IDF is authorized under FCRA for foreign donations
IDF has 15 Tribal schools and Empowerment Classes across India
IDF develops rural villages as part of their work.
IDF interacts with millions of students every year through schools-colleges
IDF is an ideal people-friendly NGO
IDF operations are transparent and subject to strict audit regulations
IDF Board of Trustees has leading Social Scientists- Leprologists- Specialists


Free Poster – Literatures on TB available at
Indian Development Foundation
L 10/ 3 & 4 Jal Ratan Deep
Bangur Nagar, Goregaon (West)
Mumbai 400 104
Tel : 022 – 28762008/ 3008
www.idf.org.in
idfark@gmail.com, idfmumbai@gmail.com