India, March 1 -- The Lancet Global Health recently published a paper that said at least half a million deaths could be prevented between 2023 and 2035 if 80% of the adults in tuberculosis (TB)-affected households are provided food baskets and supplements.

The focus on tackling undernutrition makes sense because there have been enough studies to show that undernutrition is the leading risk factor for TB. Globally, nearly 20% of global TB incidence, which is the number of new cases, is attributable to undernutrition, increasing to at least a third in India.

According to the Lancet paper, a nutritional intervention in the form of food baskets (1200 kcal for patients with TB and 750 kcal for household contacts) and micronutrient supplement...