Work

Tuberculosis in Tibetan refugee settlements in India: a human rights perspective

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The statelessness and political vulnerability of Tibetans-in-exile in India are crucial drivers of tuberculosis (TB) in this population. The violent and forced displacement of Tibetans from Tibet into India in 1959 led to overcrowded and poorly resourced settlement camps that sparked a micro-epidemic of TB among exiled Tibetans, which persists to this day. This paper focuses on the diversity and precarity in legal status among Tibetans in exile in India, human rights implications and impacts on drivers of TB particularly access to housing, health care, nutrition, and employment. The absence of a refugee framework in India, notwithstanding a broadly receptive stance toward the Tibetan people and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, intersects with and compounds these barriers. We posit a human-rights based approach, which is needed to ensure states are accountable for safeguarding fundamental human rights that are pivotal to ending TB in Tibetans in exile, and other populations facing sociolegal and health precarities.

Source: Frontiers in Public Health

DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1799708

Authors: Nawang Yanga, Michaela Hynie, Halton Quach, Jessica Vorstermans, Amrita Daftary

Institutions: York University, York University, University of York, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Language: English

Topic: Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities, No poverty

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801