Global TB drug resistance crisis stems from colonial-era neglect, profit-driven healthcare, and systemic inequity—solutions require dismantling these structures
Original framing: “Tuberculosis treatment has advanced — now we need to stop drug resistance dragging us backwards” — Nature
Drug resistance is a *repetition compulsion* of colonial healthcare: the 1897 *Berlin Conference*’s 'civilizing mission' prioritized extracting resources over treating diseases like TB, leading to the 1920s *South African* *Xhosa* resistance to early sulfa drugs. The *1948* WHO’s *First Global TB Campaign* was sabotaged by pharmaceutical lobbies pushing proprietary drugs, mirroring today’s *Gilead’s* $1.5B HIV drug pricing scandals. The *1994* *South African* *Black Sash* protests against TB drug shortages—ignored by the *Apartheid* regime—foreshadowed the *2020* *COVID-19* vaccine apartheid. Resistance isn’t new; it’s the *predictable outcome* of treating symptoms without addressing the root cause: *healthcare as a commodity*, not a right.