That
“smiling is the first step to recovery” is what
Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent volunteers tell tuberculosis (TB) patients.
Many volunteers have first-hand experience of the despair of
diagnosis but have recovered to become active helpers in the
Red Crescent TB prevention programme. Such support from former
TB patients has been shown to increase the chances of recovery
from this insidious disease.
Tuberculosis is one of the main health problems in Kyrgyzstan,
where about 6000 TB patients are officially registered. The
rate of infection is gradually increasing. The reason is believed
to be not only poverty together with malnutrition, the cold
and unsanitary living conditions but also that people don’t
seek medical help or seek it too late.
“It’s mainly a problem of discrimination,”
explains Bubunur Asanakunova, coordinator of the TB prevention
programme. “Healthy people stigmatise those who are infected.
Yet this is irrational because a ‘hidden’ disease
is much more dangerous for everyone.”
Red Crescent specialists are certain that the success of awareness-raising
and medical treatment initiatives depends on the extent to which
stigmatization and discrimination are reduced. This was the
incentive behind Bubunur Asanakunova’s suggestion to include
the support groups of former TB patients in the programme.
Maksat was almost 25 when he found he had tuberculosis. His
first reaction was fear because he thought death was quick and
inevitable. He also feared rejection by those around him. He
kept quiet about his diagnosis, secretly getting treatment from
the hospital and later a local clinic. It was at the clinic
that he met Svetlana, a visiting nurse from the Red Crescent’s
TB prevention programme. With her support and encouragement,
Maksat quickly recovered. Today, he is a volunteer and shares
his experiences with others who need his support.
There are 12 volunteers who have recovered from the disease.
Together with visiting nurses from the Red Crescent, they support
300 TB patients in Bishkek, Dzhalalabat and Karabalta. The volunteers’
main task is to meet patients when they return home after hospital
treatment. This is a crucial time for a TB patient: many feel
better and do not finish their course of treatment, thus risking
a return of the disease and building possible immunity to the
drugs; many more are left isolated by friends and family who
are too afraid to have any contact with them.
The volunteers believe that relaying their own experiences to
current patients is the most effective way of helping them.
By telling their story, they can emphasize that TB is curable,
that contact with healthy people is possible and that they must
play an active part in their own recovery.
The volunteers support patients to help them continue with their
treatment. They organize visits to the Red Crescent charity
canteen and raise awareness to prevent tuberculosis and discrimination
in the families. They also organize special events, such as
putting on impromptu ‘Defeat tuberculosis together!’
concerts for patients in medical institutions. The TB patients
enjoy the comedy and join in with the singing. Smiling is the
first step to recovery; it gives someone the chance to live.
The volunteers’ task is made more difficult because high-risk
groups such as former prisoners, alcoholics, drug addicts and
homeless people are among those targeted by the Red Crescent
programme. It is difficult to persuade them to continue their
treatment but the volunteers and visiting nurses don’t
stop trying.
Their efforts have resulted in an 88% recovery rate among those
patients supported by the programme. Among them are even people
diagnosed with tuberculosis in prison and given early release
because their situation was considered hopeless.
The TB prevention programme is supported by the British
Red Cross through the International Federation.
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That
“smiling is the first step to recovery” is
what Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent volunteers tell tuberculosis
(TB) patients. (p14309)
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The
volunteers believe that relaying their own experiences
to current patients is the most effective way of helping
them. By telling their story, they can emphasize that
TB is curable, that contact with healthy people is possible
and that they must play an active part in their own recovery.
(p14308)
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