PUBLIC AWARENESS & NARRATIVES

The stories we tell about TB shape the response to it.

For decades, TB has been framed as a clinical, disease management issue alone: a bacteria to be eliminated, a public health problem to be solved. But this narrow framing diminishes, the urgent need to address awareness and information gaps in which TB thrives . The lack of information feeds stigma and creates It also : silence, discomfort with the disease and stigma towards those affected.

At Survivors Against TB, we work to shift this narrative, in the minds of the public, communities, policymakers, health professionals, and the media.

We believe that public awareness is both about information and imagination. It's about changing how people see TB: not as a mark of shame or personal failure, but as a social justice issue that reflects deep inequalities.

Why public narratives and policy change go hand in hand

Stigma thrives in silence.
Many TB affected experience shame, abandonment, or discrimination – especially women, queer individuals, and marginalized communities.
Policy follows perception.
Shifting public perception is essential to sustaining pressure for meaningful, survivor-informed policy change.
Lived experience is evidence. – they reveal gaps in care, blind spots in policy, and the real cost of inaction.

What We Do

Through our media engagement, storytelling campaigns, and advocacy efforts, SATB builds public narratives to reshape both policy and programs in India.

Our work spans:

Training survivors to share their stories with confidence, safety, and impact
Engaging journalists, and filmmakers to frame TB with nuance, dignity, and accuracy
Producing survivor-centered content: essays, campaigns, films, and interviews.
Building campaigns like TB aur Main to bring TB out of the shadows and into public imaginatioN
Challenging harmful narratives in health communication that reinforce shame, fatalism, or invisibility