Photo Essay: Airborne, A Struggle to Survive Tuberculosis, by Dan Iver Ray G. Aldas

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Airborne, A Struggle to Survive Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is one of the most life threatening diseases infecting millions of people globally. A disease that has been an issue since pre-war and up to the present time. An airborne disease that spreads through the air and can infect a person who has inhaled even a small amount of these bacteria. If not treated properly, this will develop into a more severe form of tuberculosis which is the multiple drug resistant, or worst, the extreme drug resistant tuberculosis which has no effective cure.

The Philippine’s fight to end this epidemic disease has been long fought, but still the battle has not been won. This preventable and curable disease has killed and is continuing to kill millions of people, a major health concern in the country that accounts to a huge social stigma. In the Philippines, 3 people die every hour in which 2 of them are among the productive age group of 15 to 64 years of age. Incidence rate of TB continues to be relatively high especially among informal settlers in urban unhygienic areas due to various factors such as overcrowding and poor hygiene situations. These are further compounded by the inaccessibility for health workers to enter these areas, insufficient facilities for TB treatment, and the discontinued treatment due to frequent relocation of patients caused by forced evictions. Deficiency of medicines that are required to treat tuberculosis is also a major factor in government hospitals.

During the course of my documentation, one thing that haunts me is their stories. I was overwhelmed with the permission given to me to pass on their individual tragedy–stories of families abandoning patients after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, or of those who pass away without seeing their loved ones. Decades have passed but still this ancient disease is still killing millions of people globally, most especially in developing countries such as the Philippines. A poignant reality is poor education, high unemployment rate, neglect and inadequate support from the government being the major issue why the disease is outspread and still highly prevalent.

Photographer: Dan Iver Ray G. Aldas
Camera: Leica M6
Website: www.lightstalkers.org/iver-aldas