bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Vasudevan Sridharan

For months, a relentless spiral of coughing, fever and fading strength defined Sivaranjani’s life. The 24-year-old from Barur, a quiet village in Tamil Nadu, had seen doctor after doctor, endured test after test, yet no one could explain why her body was wasting away.
By early 2020, her weight had plummeted to a shocking 28kg (62lbs). Her family could only watch in helpless despair as her health deteriorated. Then came the seizure – a violent culmination of months of fever and exhaustion.
Rushed unconscious to a government hospital, Sivaranjani spent two days in the intensive care unit while doctors fought to stabilise her.
Finally, the mystery was solved: she had tuberculosis.
My entire life was turned upside down
Sivaranjani, former tuberculosis patient
“It was just hell,” Sivaranjani told This Week in Asia, her voice trembling as she recounted the diagnosis. “Once I was diagnosed with TB, my entire life was turned upside down.”
The disease – a bacterial infection that primarily attacks the lungs – was already in its advanced stages, and her chances of survival seemed slim.
But Sivaranjani fought back. With months of gruelling treatment, she clawed her way back to health, her weight climbing steadily to 55kg (121lbs). Today, she leads a normal life, but the trauma of her battle remains.
Sivaranjani’s story is one of survival against the odds. But it also highlights a much larger battle – India’s fight against tuberculosis, a disease that kills more than 400,000 people in the country every year.
More than 2.5 million people contract tuberculosis in India every year and the South Asian nation accounts for over a quarter of the world’s TB cases. Despite free diagnosis and treatment in public healthcare facilities, the social stigma, lack of awareness, and challenges in accessing care continue to devastate lives.
In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration set an ambitious target: eliminate TB in India by 2025 – five years ahead of the United Nations’ global goal.

In December, India’s Health Minister J. P. Nadda launched a 100-day elimination campaign, targeting nearly 350 high-burden districts to speed up detection, reduce diagnostic delays and improve treatment.
“Our fight against TB just got stronger!” Modi proclaimed on social media “Powered by a collective spirit to defeat TB, a special 100-day campaign is starting today with a focus on high-burden TB districts.”
While the campaign has seen some success, health experts remain sceptical that India can eradicate the disease within the next 12 months.
Stigma and superstition
Sivaranjani’s battle with TB was not just physical – it was emotional and social. The diagnosis brought ostracism. Her family and in-laws barred her two-year-old son from coming near her. Instead of rallying around her, they turned to superstition.
“I went through too many rituals,” she said. “Sacrificing a goat, chanting mantras, wearing special garlands, and consuming neem leaves. Some even suggested I stop medication altogether and drink only lime juice because they thought I was possessed by a ghost.”
Every other day, Sivaranjani walked 2km to the nearest government hospital, enduring a gruelling regimen of injections and pills. Through it all, one person stood by her: her doctor. He was the only one who encouraged her to stick to the treatment, she said.
After 18 months of struggle, Sivaranjani was declared TB-free. Today, she works for a non-profit, helping other TB patients navigate the disease and the stigma that comes with it.

‘It’s a miracle I’m alive’
Sadly, Sivaranjani’s story is not unique. Across India, hundreds of thousands of TB patients face similar battles.
Ujwal Kumar, a resident of Patna in Bihar, was diagnosed with TB in 2016. His illness cost him everything – his job, his family and his friends. Yet his resolve remained unbroken. Kumar regularly walked 7km to the nearest hospital for treatment. In 2018, he beat the disease.
“In Bihar, it’s hard to find nutritious food, let alone medicines for diseases like TB,” Kumar told This Week in Asia. “It’s a miracle I’m alive today.”
The disease’s hold on India is fuelled by more than poverty and stigma. Tobacco use, particularly among high-risk populations, is a critical yet often overlooked factor.
“TB and tobacco are dual burdens,” said Dr Sonu Goel, a public-health professor at the government-run Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.
“Nearly one-third of TB cases are linked to tobacco use, which increases the TB burden, relapse, and recurrence. Many TB patients are smokeless tobacco users.”
Tobacco weakens the immune system and damages the windpipe, creating the perfect conditions for TB to thrive, Geol said.
“We already have a TB-tobacco collaborative framework from the government,” he added. “Unless tobacco use is controlled, we cannot think of ending TB.”

Despite progress – India has seen a decline in TB incidence and improved diagnosis – the goal of eliminating the disease by 2025 remains daunting. The World Health Organization’s global report on TB released in October acknowledged India’s achievements but noted the numbers were still far from what is needed.
“The campaign will be most effective if it focuses on the most vulnerable populations,” said Dr Ramya Ananthakrishnan, director of REACH, a non-profit public health advocacy group. “We need to ensure access to diagnostics and an uninterrupted drug supply. This campaign should cover the full spectrum of treatment.”
The Covid-19 pandemic only made matters worse. Between 2020 and 2022, drug shortages disrupted treatment for many TB patients, forcing them to return to hospitals frequently or go without medicine altogether.
Still, Ananthakrishnan holds onto hope. “The 2025 target is ambitious and difficult,” she told This Week in Asia. “But processes are already in place. If not next year, then in a couple of years, we might achieve it.”


India plays catch-up to influence Myanmar as China’s clout over junta and rebels grows

India loses a key Kashmir ally with fall of Syria’s Assad

‘You’ve checkmated the world’: Gukesh Dommaraju’s historic win fuels chess dreams in India

Is India losing its fight against tuberculosis eradication by 2025?

India

A doctor checks a tuberculosis patient’s chest X-rays at a clinic in Mumbai. Photo: AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) with Health Minister J.P. Nadda in 2022. Photo: AP

A tuberculosis patient lies on a bed in Agartala, Tripura, India. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images

Nearly one-third of TB cases are linked to tobacco use, according to health experts. Photo: Reuters

India to boost defence ties with ‘trusted partner’ Russia amid efforts to diversify arms imports

Soldiers in Russian-made T-90 tanks march past during a ceremony to celebrate India’s Army Day in New Delhi. Photo: AFP

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Photo: Pool via Reuters

An oil tanker train passes near a refinery in Guwahati. India remains one of the largest purchasers of Russian oil. Photo: AFP

An Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft taking off from Merignac airbase. France has emerged as India’s second-biggest exporter of major arms after Russia. Photo: Dassault Aviation / AFP

Indian opposition raises doubts over India-China border deal

Indian and Chinese army greet each other along the Line of Actual Control on October 31. Photo: Indian Army/AFP

Congress party member Jairam Ramesh. Photo: Getty Images

India’s killer smog is piling on the costs to citizens, the economy

A view of the city amid heavy smog in New Delhi. Photo: EPA-EFE

A farmer burns straw stubble after a harvest in a paddy field on the outskirts of Amritsar. Noxious smog smothering the plains of north India is not only choking the lungs of residents and killing millions, but also slowing down the country’s economic growth. Photo: AFP

A teacher conducts an online class near a basketball court at Swami Sivananda Memorial Institute in New Delhi. Keeping children at home and moving lessons online for days at a time during the peak of the smog crisis in winter helps protect the health of the city’s youth. Photo: AFP

10-year-old ‘Bal Sant’, India’s youngest spiritual influencer, faces scrutiny and threats

10-year-old “spiritual influencer” Abhinav Arora. Photo: Handout

10-year-old Abhinav Arora, known as ‘Bal Sant’, has gained fame as a spiritual influencer in India. Photo: Handout

This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

News

Asia

South Asia

India’s anti-tuberculosis drive has been slowed by social stigma, superstition, poor public awareness and widespread tobacco use


India’s anti-tuberculosis drive has been slowed by social stigma, superstition, poor public awareness and widespread tobacco use.


World Health Organization (WHO)

Narendra Modi

Disease