How to avoid the tuberculosis poverty trap | Dr Tom Wingfield

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1 in 3 people worldwide are infected with latent tuberculosis (TB), and around 2 million people die from tuberculosis every year. This randomised control trial used a combination of social and economic methods to combat TB.

Cash transfers helped impoverished households counter the often catastrophic direct and indirect costs of TB care. While treatment is free, patients still need to pay to reach the clinic (an example of a direct cost) and will lose money as their illness prevents them from working (an indirect cost). Community meetings, education and support groups were used to help tackle the stigma and isolation often experienced by people with tuberculosis.

This work was undertaken in collaboration with the Innovation for Health and Development research group, who address social determinants of tuberculosis in Peru, and the Peruvian National TB Program. Read more about the Innovation For Health And Development research group at

Dr Wingfield is currently working with the Birat Nepal Medical Trust in Nepal to expand the findings of the research presented here to a low-resource setting. Read more about the work of the Trust at

Dr Tom Wingfield is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer and Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases at the University of Liverpool Institute of Infection & Global Health. See more of his work or contact him via

This talk was the joint winner of the Young Investigator Award 2017, supported by the Lancet, sharing a prize of £2500 and receiving the opportunity to write an editorial in the Lancet. Watch the other winning talk:

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