Misdiagnosis of TB is quite common, as Ani knows all too well – her misdiagnosis led to her developing multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). To make her situation even more serious, she was pregnant at the time, and gave birth to her son while in hospital in isolation, in what she describes as “the most embarrassing moment of [her] life.”
After two years of painful treatment, Ani was finally TB-free, and credits The Global Fund with saving her life. Her traumatic experience led her to join a TB survivor group, and from there she also helped establish a local survivors organization in Surabaya that became a fully legal organization in 2015. At 2021 she has chosen to be vice chair or POP TB Indonesia, a national survivor organization network.
Ani has now dedicated her career to supporting a stronger TB response in her home country of Indonesia, as well as across the Asia-Pacific region, and particularly working with TB Women – a global network of women in all their diversity who aim to drive a gender transformative TB response.
As a pregnant woman with TB, my experience was unique compared to most TB patients – but telling my story is important to help show the need for increased support and investment in TB responses, and especially in The Global Fund.
My Stories fight with TB
