James Nachtwey XDR TB photography

Started by Paul Zintl on 08 Oct 2008

This new website provides haunting images to raise awareness of the
threat of XDR/MDR-TB

The issue and the photos| www.XDRTB.org <http://www.xdrtb.org/>

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Sophie Beauvais

Thanks for sharing Paul. These photos are very moving and hopefully will bring much needed attention on the challenges and threats posed by extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, throughout the world.

The story of how this site and photos came about is noteworthy too. Photojournalist James Nachtwey has been covering war and human rights issues for 30 years throughout the world, from Northern Ireland to Iraq, from the orphanages of Romania to the deadly killing grounds of the Sudan. When he was awarded the TED Prize (Technology, Entertainment, Design) in 2007, a prize that comes with $100,000 and one wish to change the world, he declared: "I'm working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age." That story was XDR-TB.

The site does a good job at explaining what XDR-TB is to a general audience, and offers several calls to actions, from sharing the link to attending one of the exhibits (take a look at their toolkit for more on how to stop a preventable disease: http://ado.3cdn.net/9c43c12231ece1738b_3dm6b927t.pdf). Unveiled in New York, the photos are currently on display in London, UK, then moving on to another 11 countries: Antarctica, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong -only location in China, Japan, Macau, South Africa -only location in Africa, South Korea, several cities in the US, and Uruguay.

In these times of economic uncertainties, we all sense that raising funds may become harder, that budget may shrink, and that research and treatment programs may just stop any scale-up efforts or, even worse, come to halt. Fund is needed. International collaboration of health professionals, government officials and private sector groups is needed.

So far, almost a week after the unveiling of this website, a wide range of media including Agence France Presse, Wired, USA Today, and Time Magazine to name just a few have covered the photos and written about XDR-TB. But as the Time reports, “Multi-drug resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB are "mushrooming" in many developing countries because of the "surge in HIV/AIDS" and health systems that have "ignored the threat of TB for too long."

On the ground, and as raised many times during the IAS Conference last August in Mexico (http://www.ghdonline.org/adherence/resource/aids-2008-conference-resources-of-note/), health care professionals and program implementers now have to work for effective TB and HIV program integration, improved clinical management and better dissemination of TB Infection Control technologies and know-how.

Do you think these photos and outreach can bring XDR- TB front and center, and what is the ultimate goal in your opinion? From your standpoint as a health worker, clinician, etc., what are the top priorities and challenges you face everyday and how is your organization/group trying to answer these?

11:50 AM, 9 Oct 2008 | Permalink

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Drug Resistant TB: Discussion