Express Pharma article on TB bags award

As in previous years, the REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Media Awards 2013 recognised the best reporting on TB by Indian journalists, in English and all other languages. Viveka Roychowdhury, Editor, Express Pharma was one of the four recipients of this year’s Awards. The award winning entry is her story, ‘Beyond the Ban’, published online in Express Pharma on June 29, 2012, as well as in the June16-30, 2012 issue. The article explored the complex world of TB diagnostics, the various stakeholders and their vastly differing interests and responsibilities.

The other winner in the English category was Mumbai-based Prayaag Akbar, currently with the Sunday Guardian, for his meticulously researched, wide-ranging story ‘The Growing Tuberculosis Threat: Can India control drug-resistant tuberculosis?’ published in The Caravan last year, drawing attention to the growing dangers of multi-drug resistance and the long-term responsibility of both the state and private players in controlling TB.

The award in the Local Language category went to Yasir Fayas of Mathrubhumi Aarogyamasika for his focus on ‘Childhood entrapped in TB’, describing the complexities of paediatric TB in Kerala and emphasising the urgent need to understand the linkages between adult and childhood TB, in terms of both prevention and care. Ranchi-based journalist Anupama Kumari of Tehelka was the other recipient in this category, for her story ‘TB via Bidi: Life in the shadow of Death’, describing the health consequences for bidi workers, particularly in terms of a growing vulnerability to TB.

The award winners were felicitated by Dr Jagdish Prasad, Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India in Delhi on March 22 in the run up to World TB Day on March 24.

Congratulating the winners, Prasad said, “I congratulate all the winners. It is a pleasure to see REACH/Lilly MDR-TB Partnership adopt such an initiative in spreading awareness on TB. Despite TB being a curable disease people are unaware of its management and treatment. Media can play a vital role in raising awareness on the disease as well as help in reaching out to the patients and educating the practitioners.”

Bemoaning the fact that inspite of tuberculosis (TB) being curable and treatable, India is seeing increasing infection rates, Prasad emphasised media’s crucial role in increasing awareness about the disease.

Prasad used the occasion to outline some of the regulator’s latest thinking on the public health problem posed by TB. He was in favour of continuing free medication for TB patients exclusively through the public health system and asked media to reach out to private practitioners to spread information about increasing drug resistance. The country needs an emergency for change to come, he said and media has to play its role in creating awareness.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director General, Central TB Division, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India was the Guest of Honour spoke about the success of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), he underlined the purpose to hasten the decline in TB incidence and energising the movement.

Other dignitaries who participated and spoke at the event included Melt Van Der Spuy, Managing Director, Lilly India; Dr Nalini Krishnan, Director, REACH; Dr Madhukar Pai, Professor, McGill University, Canada and Dr Jaya Shreedhar, Health Communications Consultant.

Speaking on the occasion, Spuy said “On behalf of the Lilly Foundation, I congratulate the winners of the fourth edition of these awards. Media plays a crucial role in educating masses about this daunting disease and it becomes imperative to reward their valuable contribution to this fight. At Lilly, we believe that TB and MDR-TB are major health concerns that cannot be solved alone and we are therefore supporting the Lilly Foundation to work closely with various stakeholders including media professionals to address the challenges and barriers to its control.”

“As India struggles with an increase in cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, rising public health costs and a lack of basic awareness of the disease, journalists have an even bigger role to play. We are delighted to be inviting applications for our first ever National Fellowship, open to any journalist from across India, who is keen to explore TB-related issues at the national, policy level,” said Krishnan.

The event included a poster exhibition on the REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Media Fellowship Programme, featuring the work of the 10 journalists who have taken up the Fellowship this year. The organisers also called for applications for the first ever National Fellowship for Reporting on TB.

EP News Bureau – Mumbai