Handaa Enkh-Amgalan — Overcoming Illness And TB Stigma At The Same Time

"You are stronger than TB. TB is a tenacious disease, but you are more persistent. Don’t define yourself by this, and don’t let others’ thoughts about TB influence you."

Who Is Handaa Enkh-Amgalan?

Meet Handaa Enkh-Amgalan, MPA, Program Coordinator for Quality & Learning at International Rescue Committee where she is focusing on refugee empowerment programs and ensuring programmatic quality and refugee response accountability to affected populations.

Prior to COVID, TB killed more people than any other infectious disease. In 2019, Tuberculosis led to 1.4 million deaths. That figure increased in 2020 and over 1.5 million people died due to TB. 

Unfortunately, the stats about people sharing about their TB is decreasing with every passing year and with that the number of people receiving treatment also decreases. 

The major reason behind this is the stigmatization of TB as a disease. Stigma and discrimination around the topic push survivors and patients into silence which then further nourishes the stigma. It is associated with poverty and an unhealthy lifestyle. This is a massive problem which is still not getting enough attention to be addressed. 

Handaa has shared her TB story through her book 'STIGMATIZED: A Mongolian Girl's Journey From Stigma And Illness To Empowerment'. With this book, she became the first Mongolian to share her TB story. The book explains her incredible journey from young TB patient in Mongolia to a public servant in the United States. 

Handaa was born in Mongolia in a low-income family and had bigger plans. She was diagnosed with Tuberculosis at the age of 15. This introduced her to the thoughts of losing those dreams. She was asked to keep her disease secret and to silence the stigmatized part of her identity.

She started feeling guilty and ashamed of herself for bringing stigma to her family and isolated herself. Stigma had become a recurring theme in her life including facing stigma due to poverty and illness, on the basis of ethnicity, and her host family Tennessee experiencing stigma based on sexual orientation as a same-sex couple. 

She is a humanitarian, a TB advocate, and an author. Handaa is using her activism to fight stigmas, raise awareness, and promote survivor culture. 

employHER applauds you for becoming a role model. All TB patients who are looking for resources and motivation, read Handaa's book.