Tuberculosis and Poverty 

An article from Indian Council of Medical Research Bulletin: March 2002 

Every year, TB costs India Rupees 13,000 crore ($ 260,00,0000)

An article published in ICMR Bulletin, March 2002 edition which examines the economic impact of tuberculosis in India says that every year TB costs India more than Rupees 13,000 crore while patients have to shell-out Rupees 645 crore  ($ 129,00,0000) annually on private care. Patients suffering from tuberculosis incur a total loss of Rupees 3469 ($99) on expenses for diagnosis and treatment. The article written by Mr. M. Muniyandi and Dr. Rajeswari Ramachandran of Tuberculosis Research Center, Chennai notes that lost work time and lost income from TB morbidity are 3-4 months and about 20 per cent of annual household income and the potential cost of lost productivity due to TB is in the order of 4 to 7 per cent of GDP.

Studies carried out in different parts of the country have discovered a high percentage of TB related debts-67 per cent of rural and 75 per cent of urban patient have incurred debts on account of treatment of TB-it said.

The adverse effects of TB were greatest for poor people, mainly because their income depends exclusively on physical labor and they had no savings to cushion the blow. Urging for more funds for improving health services, the report said that India was spending only 0.9 per cent of the GDP on the health sector as against an average of 2.2 per cent by other developing countries.

You can read the full article at: http://icmr.nic.in/bumarch02.pdf