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Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of mortality rates worldwide, accounting for about 9.6 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths yearly (NCBI, 2016). The poorest and socially excluded groups carry the largest burden of disease, which makes it essential to properly address the social determinants of health through poverty reduction measures and targeted interventions on high-risk populations (NCBI, 2016). Every year, around 80,000 Bangladeshis die from tuberculosis (TB) and about 190,000 new cases occur (Copenhagen Consensus Center, 2015). The workers in the Bangladesh garment industries are extremely vulnerable to getting infected with TB. The workplace setting increases their risk of catching TB due to occupational exposure and cramped working conditions (ARK Foundation, 2016). The demographic of their employees is made up of 80% women. If one woman gets sick and can’t work, then the whole workflow gets distorted. Controlling the contraction of this disease is very important to management, because if one worker is sick nothing gets done and it puts other workers at even more of a risk.

World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) deemed the workplace as an appropriate setting for initiating TB prevention and control activities by conducting minor surveys geared towards the employees (BMC Public Health, 2015). The National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program (NTP) of Bangladesh developed a plan that includes advocacy and orientation activities among owners and workers of the garment factories, and TB management training for the medical officers and clinic managers of the BGMEA health centers (BMC Public Health, 2015). This is a great way to get the factory workers and medical staff familiar with the general affects and symptoms of the disease and how it operates overall.

Bangladeshi people normally seek traditional healing when it comes to treating any ailments and this is something that keeps TB on the rise. TB has been known as a dirty disease, a disease of the poor and destitute, a disease that came to ‘bad’ people, not to good, clean, wholesome individuals (Global Tuberculosis Institute, 2014). The stigma is so deep within the community, the people refrain from knowing or disclosing their status because it will affect their chances of being married because of fear of passing it on to the spouse. Workers also shy away from going to the doctor not only because of the cost of a visit, but also if they are diagnosed with the disease, they are at risk of being found out and losing their job at the factory. These workers rely heavily on their job to get by and they can’t afford to lose any source of income. The workers are the main group of people who are at risk of being affected and these people are among the poorer population of their country. One of the biggest social issues the workers face is not being to afford a simple check-up. If by chance they can see a healthcare professional and they are then diagnosed, they are more than likely not able or even willing to receive the recommended treatment.

Strong collaboration and harmonization between BGMEA and other Company Health Centers are the important factors that will aid in the ending of TB in Bangladesh (WHO, 2010). The WHO End TB Strategy, adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2014, is a blueprint for countries to end the TB epidemic by driving down TB deaths, incidence and eliminating catastrophic costs. It outlines global impact targets to reduce TB deaths by 90%, to cut new cases by 80% between 2015 and 2030, and to ensure that no family is burdened with catastrophic costs due to TB (WHO, 2019). Getting to the root cause if TB will be a hard task, but not impossible. Screening everyone who works in factories to see who is suffering from the disease is the first step because if the people are aware and healthy, then that promotes more job security. Making the screening and treatment processes affordable to factory workers is the next step and can improve so much for so many individuals.

Reference

ARK Foundation (2016). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ae32df040f0b63154caab60/Improving-access-to-TB-care-for-garment-factory-workers-using-PPP-in-Bangladesh-1.pdf

Copenhagen Consensus Center (2015). https://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/publication/bangladesh-perspectives-tuberculosis

Global Tuberculosis Institute. 2014. Retrieved from http://globaltb.njms.rutgers.edu/educationalmaterials/CC%20Newsletter/2014/CC%20Newsletter-%20Issue%2018.pdf

National Center for Biotechnology Information (2016). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927938/

World Health Organization (2019). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis

World Health Organization (2010) https://www.who.int/tb/careproviders/ppm/BangladeshPPMWorkplaceYoungone.pdf