Tuberculosis Linked to Climate Change by John Green: A Close Examination
In the literary world, John Green is renowned for his best-selling novels like The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska. However, the author has taken on a new role in recent years, becoming an activist for tuberculosis (TB), a disease that continues to pose a significant threat to global health.
Green's fascination with TB began in 2019 when he visited a TB hospital in Sierra Leone. This visit led him to write his latest book, Everything is Tuberculosis, which tells the story of Henry Reider, a Sierra Leonean who contracted a severe case of TB as a child.
TB is a disease that is closely associated with impoverishment and worsens poverty. More than 10 million people still contract TB each year, a burden disproportionately borne by poorer countries. Henry's experience was different because of when and where he was born; he had a stigmatized experience rather than a romanticized one, as was common in 18th- and 19th-century European and American literature and art.
Interrupting a patient's course of TB treatment is catastrophic, as it increases the chance of drug resistance developing and makes the disease harder to cure on an individual basis. Disrupting TB treatment also means there is more drug-resistant TB circulating, which poses a societal threat.
Unfortunately, the fight against TB is being hindered by political decisions. President Donald Trump is making it harder for public health officials to respond to TB by kneecapping the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States is also stripping international funding for TB relief efforts by effectively shutting down the United States Agency for International Development.
Climate change exacerbates the unjust conditions that allow TB to fester. Global heating deepens global inequality, creating wider riverbeds for TB to course through. Climate change moves people around and forces them into crowded living conditions, which can lead to more TB.
Despite these challenges, Green remains optimistic. He argues that people only die from TB because of unjust social systems. However, he also believes that TB can be a disease of virtuous cycles, with TB survivors making it possible for more people to survive TB.
Green's activism includes fighting for TB aid in low-income countries, pressuring pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of tests and medications, and rallying his fans to raise over $3.5 million for nonprofits. He has supported the organization "Partners In Health" in the last five years to help combat tuberculosis.
In addition to his activism, Green is also the sponsor of the fourth-tier English soccer club, AFC Wimbledon. His efforts in raising awareness and funds for TB have made a significant impact, but there is still much work to be done.
TB and climate change disproportionately affect people in impoverished countries due to global resource distribution systems doing a poor job of distributing resources appropriately. Both TB and climate change are solvable, yet remain unsolved. Green's new book, Everything is Tuberculosis, discusses the paradox of TB being curable yet still killing more people than any other infectious disease.
As we move forward, it is crucial that we address these issues head-on. The fight against TB is not just a medical issue, but a social and political one as well. Green's work serves as a reminder that we have the power to make a difference, and that every life matters.
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