The results of the ‘Nature’ study highlight the close relationship between poverty and tuberculosis. The study concludes that the death rate is higher for people who do not receive government money.
A government program to provide cash assistance to low-income people in Brazil Significantly reduced your risk of contracting tuberculosisIt is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, a new study has revealed.
Brazil launched ‘Bolsa Familia’ program It was established in 2004 to provide financial assistance to the country’s poorest families, provided they meet certain educational and medical requirements. Families that meet the conditions, earns less than 34 euros per person per monththey are taking at least 93 euros per month In cash benefits, higher payments for families with young children, adolescents and pregnant women.
‘Bolsa Familia’ program was launched 21.1 million families in 2023, It is one of the largest state rental income initiatives in the world. This initiative baby deathmy friend cardiovascular diseasesHE suicide and other health problems.
Now, a new study published in the journal ‘Nature Medicine’ has analyzed the relationship between the schedule and tuberculosis, an infectious disease that attacks the lungs. It is closely linked to poverty and malnutrition. The study found that the program reduced tuberculosis cases and deaths from the disease among people living in extreme poverty between 2004 and 2015, and the effects were even greater for indigenous Brazilians and African descendants.
10.8 million people have tuberculosis
“In extremely poor and marginalized societies, the impact of an anti-poverty program is not much different in magnitude from the impact of a drug, a diagnosis or any biomedical approach,” he told Euronews Health. Davide Rasellamain author of the study and head of the group responsible for assessing and evaluating its effects on health Barcelona Global Health Institute.
some in 2023 10.8 million people Every part of the world will suffer from tuberculosis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this sometimes debilitating disease can take months to recover and about half of the patients they are facing a face very high financial burden as a result of this.
How did the study work?
The new analysis included: 54.5 million Brazilians are low-income Those with similar demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, regardless of whether they receive a money transfer. Over the 12 years of the study, there were almost 160,000 new TB diagnoses and nearly 8,000 deaths in the cohort.
During this time, the incidence and mortality rate of tuberculosis was lower among transferred people. For example, the incidence rate among beneficiaries was 49.44 per 100,000 people. Among those who did not receive the money, it was 81.37 per 100,000 people.
Meanwhile, The death rate from tuberculosis was more than twice as high among those who did not receive the money4.68 per 100,000 compared to 2.08 per 100,000 for those transferred. These effects were even greater in Brazil’s northern and northeastern regions, which are less developed than the rest of the country, as well as among people in extreme poverty, indigenous peoples, African Americans or those of mixed race, known to the Brazilian Institute of Geography. and Statistics as “brown”.
According to the study, the “protective effects” of the anti-tuberculosis program were: weaker in areas with prisonsThis is probably because prisons can become actual reservoirs of tuberculosis at higher rates. both within the facilities and in neighboring communities.
The role of extreme poverty in health outcomes
Experts have long warned that extreme poverty is a risk factor for tuberculosis because people are less likely to seek health care. due to medical expenses, transportation barriers, or inability to go to workmay delay diagnosis or treatment.
According to researchers, cash can help reduce risks by providing people with security. Greater access to food, better housing conditionsless crowded areas and better ventilation and Cook with cleaner fuels reduces indoor air pollution.
“When you have more economic margin, You can easily access healthcare services and perhaps earlier diagnosis,” says Rasella. “And because you continue to be more food secure and better nourished after contracting the disease, your response to treatment will be better.”
Brazil’s cash transfer program also imposes certain conditions that could help ensure people are tested and treated for tuberculosis. For example, while pregnant women should receive prenatal care, Children must be vaccinated, meet their nutritional requirements, and attend school.
The results have implications for policymakers around the world, the researchers said. Considering that the Brazilian cash transfer program is already 20 years old. Although the study period ended in 2015, Rasella said its effects likely remain.
ADVERTSimilar projects have also been tried on a smaller scale. India you Uganda The Uganda study showed promising results, although it did show that cash transfers need to be longer-term to maximize their impact. In conclusion, the results show that “reducing and, if possible, eliminating poverty can greatly reduce the burden of poverty-related diseases in particular.” among the most vulnerableand especially in the Global South,” Rasella concludes.
