Beating TB requires more than medicine: The value of patient support

Eight years ago Busisiwe Beko was undergoing treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis when, after months of waiting to see a pediatric specialist, her daughter was diagnosed with the same illness. The five-month-old baby was admitted to a TB hospital where she would receive treatment for seven months; Busisiwe, however, was turned away due to lack of space. Today, both mother and daughter are healthy. However, their experience with MDR-TB didn’t stop at their cure. Busisiwe went on to join Médecins Sans Frontières as a counselor for MDR-TB patients in her community, providing the support and medication counseling that she wished she had received during treatment.