Having tuberculosis can be imprisoning in so many ways. The symptoms. The stigma. The endless stream of medicines. The isolation from family and friends, work and school. The sheer duration of treatment. It’s a brutal disease that measures its awful toll in months and years.
From the Faces of TB series. Solving the world’s toughest global health problems doesn’t happen without a wide array of partnerships. But critical, and often overlooked, are the people who agree to participate in clinical trials of vaccines. They help the world understand more about the diseases we fight, how we fight them, and how we get closer to answers we need. To solutions. So many individuals, like this man, in their own ways, help move us forward, together.
Waiting. At a clinic near Worcester, South Africa. I’m back posting again, and finally on a subject that is my everyday work: tuberculosis and global health
On the second Tuesday of each month, about 6km beyond the village of Mpemba, where the narrow road hugs a hillside over rocks and streams, there is a clinic. The clinic isn’t a flashy building with bright hallways and fancy equipment, although there is a lot of natural light. There isn’t even a building at all.
The Children’s Ward at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe. The closest beds are in the “Red Zone,” with the sickest children and getting the highest attention from staff.