Supporting families with tuberculosis during COVID-19 in Khayelithsa, South Africa

Abstract

“When the lockdowns first started, we thought it was the worst thing that could happen to our family”, recalls Esihle (not her real name), her eyes shining with tears. “We could not work, you see, and without any money coming in, we all had to move back home to my mother's place. My brothers did too, all of us, with all of our children. There were nine of us living in that one small shack! But then my brother started to cough and I did too, and things got much, much more difficult for us all.”