DistantNews
Support us
🇳🇵 Nepal /Health & Science

TB treatment is free in Nepal, but 51 percent of affected families face crippling costs: Report

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A new report reveals that 51% of households in Nepal face catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis, despite free diagnosis and treatment.
  • These costs include medical tests, transportation, food, accommodation, and lost income, with drug-resistant TB cases burdening three in four households.
  • While medicines and basic tests are free, additional investigations required for non-pulmonary TB significantly contribute to the financial strain on affected families.

Despite Nepal's provision of free tuberculosis medicines and diagnosis, a significant majority of affected households face crippling financial burdens, according to a recent study. The report, "Catastrophic Costs and Impoverishment Among Tuberculosis-Affected Households in Nepal: Results from a National Patient Cost Survey," indicates that 51 percent of households experience catastrophic costs due to the disease.

In the initial stage, she used to come to Kathmandu every month. But when she ran out of money, she decided to rent a room in Kathmandu. Expenses were huge, as she had to bring her family members also.

— Dr Prajowl ShresthaA senior chest physician and associate professor at the National Academy of Medical Sciences, describing the financial struggles of a TB patient.

These substantial expenses extend beyond medication, encompassing out-of-pocket payments for essential medical tests, transportation to healthcare facilities, accommodation for patients and their families, and crucially, income lost while patients are too ill to work. For cases involving drug-resistant TB, the financial strain is even more severe, affecting three in four households.

One in two TB-affected households in Nepal face catastrophic costs despite free diagnosis and treatment.

— Report authorsStating the key finding of the 'Catastrophic Costs and Impoverishment Among Tuberculosis-Affected Households in Nepal' study.

While the National Tuberculosis Programme offers free medicines, sputum testing, and chest x-rays, the study highlights that these provisions are insufficient to shield families from financial hardship. Patients often require additional, costly investigations such as CT scans, MRIs, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, tissue biopsies, and pleural fluid tests, particularly when TB affects parts of the body beyond the lungs, including lymph nodes, bones, brain, kidneys, and reproductive organs.

Drug-resistant TB leaves three in four affected households facing catastrophic costs in Nepal.

— Report authorsHighlighting the amplified financial burden associated with drug-resistant tuberculosis cases.

The study, which surveyed 1,000 patients, found that direct non-medical costs, such as transportation and accommodation, accounted for 44 percent of the total financial burden. This underscores the multifaceted nature of TB's impact, extending far beyond the direct medical treatment and highlighting the need for broader financial support systems for affected families in Nepal.

These and other tests do not come under the free scheme.

— Dr ShresthaExplaining that numerous diagnostic tests required for TB are not covered by the government's free healthcare scheme.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog