When these options are denied, overall development is compromised and not sustainable. TB and Women TB causes more deaths among women than all causes of maternal mortality combined. Over 900 million women are infected with TB worldwide, one million will die and 2.5 million will get sick this year from the disease, mainly between the ages of 15 and 44. There are many barriers for women to access health services. Women are often unable to leave their home and work or they might need permission from their family to go to a clinic or pay for treatment.
Women often end up carrying the burden of housework and their own sickness.
In many places, the stigma attached to TB leads to isolation, abandonment and divorce of women. The number of refugees and displaced people in the world has increased nine-fold in 20 years. Untreated TB spreads quickly in crowded refugee camps and shelters. It is difficult to treat mobile populations. Other displaced people such as homeless people in industrialized countries are at risk.