After traveling to South Africa to work on a project about the TB epidemic in the country's gold mining community, David Rochkind began to realize that the disease does not merely affect the individual patients who have it, but also the families and communities where it is found. Moreover, it is a disease that can not be defined simply by statistics, as it has far reaching social and economic consequences. He decided to continue to work on projects about tuberculosis as a way to highlight this under reported disease, that severely damages and handicaps communities across the globe.
Photo credit:
- Photo 1: David Rochkind/ International Reporting Project
- Photo 2: David Rochkind/ Pulitzer Center
- Photo 3: David Rochkind/ WHO
Other photos by David Rochkind will be featured on "EPIDEMIC: TB in the Global Community," an interactive website based on photography and multimedia reports in three of the countries that are the hardest hit by TB: South Africa, India and Moldova. Each of these countries is representative of their respective regions, where the TB problem continues to evolve. The site will include the photographs by David Rochkind, curriculum units designed to help young people understand TB and an action packet that will enable people to take action to help alleviate the TB crisis.
The EPIDEMIC: TB in the Global Community project is a joint collaboration between photographer David Rochkind and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and is supported by the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership. It is being developed by Education Development Center, Inc.
Gold miners in South Africa pray before beginning work at an underground mine. 
A woman who suffers from TB rests at her home.
A TB patient receives a physical at the Group of TB Hospitals in Mumbai, India.
Gold miners in South Africa pray before beginning work at an underground mine. 
A woman who suffers from TB rests at her home.
A TB patient receives a physical at the Group of TB Hospitals in Mumbai, India. 