Shreya Tripathi

Shreya Tripathi (died 9 October 2018) was an Indian health activist.

Shreya Tripathi
Died	9 October 2018
Nationality	India
Occupation	health activist

Tripathi was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2012.[1] She sought treatment but her strain was found to be extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, rendering the usual medications ineffective.[1] The Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP) in India declined to provide her with bedaquiline, a newer drug intended for such cases.[2] With the assistance of Anand Grover, Tripathi filed suit against the RNTCP to force the organization to provide access to the medication.[2] On 20 January 2017, the High Court in Delhi ruled in favour of Tripathi and ordered that she receive the drug.[3] The court further ordered that bedaquiline be made available at 70 Indian treatment centres; it had previously only be obtainable at six.[4] Although her suit was successful, the treatment delay resulted in irreversible scarring to Tripathi's lungs, resulting in her death.[2]

Stephen Lewis highlighted Tripathi's story in a 2017 keynote address.[4] In an article written after Tripathi's death, Lewis and Jennifer Furin suggested that Tripathi "belongs with Malala and Greta in the pantheon of teenagers whose unswerving principles have brought the powerful to their knees".[3]

References

1. Amrit Dhillon (13 January 2017). "Politics and protocol leave Indian teen's life in the balance pending TB drug ruling". The Guardian.
2. Jennifer Furin (30 March 2019). "TB Killed Shreya Tripathi, But Her Death Could Have Been Avoided". The Wire.
3. Stephen Lewis and Jennifer Furin (24 March 2019). "India should heed a teenager's historic fight for lifesaving tuberculosis treatment". Stat News.
4. "Keynote by Stephen Lewis delivered at the 21st Annual Conference of The Union - North America Region, Vancouver, Canada, February 24, 2017" (PDF).