Hi, I’m Sarah and I’m a research scientist. I am running for #TB Recovery in Nepal, to raise money for food support for people with tuberculosis (TB), and their families.

Nepal is one of the world’s least developed countries and has a high incidence of TB. TB is curable, yet it remains the number one infectious disease killer globally. As TB mainly affects the poorest in society, many TB patients are living in extreme poverty, or precipitated into extreme poverty, by the illness. Undernutrition is one of the biggest risk factors for getting TB, and for dying from TB. An amazing clinical trial in India (the RATIONS trial) showed that if you simply provide extra food to people with TB and their families, the recovery of the patient is better, the number of people who die from TB is halved and the number of family members who fall sick with TB is also halved. This simple solution saves lives and prevents a lot of suffering.

I have been helping Birat Nepal Medical Trust, a Nepalese non-governmental organisation (https://bnmtnepal.org.np) to deliver food packages to TB patients and their families. As well as supporting successful TB cure, and reducing poverty, malnutrition and vulnerability to TB among the family members, we are doing this to raise awareness and advocate for national level adoption of nutritional support.

I will be running 21km for #TB Recovery in the Run Melbourne Half Marathon on July 13th 2025. Help me bring crucial nutritional support to people fighting TB in Nepal. Your donation, no matter the size, will help us reach our goal to deliver much-needed nutritional support. 3500 NPR (approx. $40 AUD) provides 1 month food support for a family affected by TB living in extreme poverty. All donations will be used directly to buy and supply food to families struggling to recover from TB in Nepal.

Thank you to all,

Sarah Dunstan