Lim Phoan didn't understand why she kept coughing. She tried using medications from the local pharmacy, but nothing worked—she kept getting sicker.
Phoan was convinced to go for a proper test by a community health volunteer trained by Catholic Relief Services. She tested positive for tuberculosis, a disease that afflicts 96,000 Cambodians—mostly the poor—each year. Many of them turn to ineffective local remedies before the true cause of their illness is discovered.
The volunteer worked daily with Phoan, making sure she adhered strictly to the eight-month drug regimen required to treat her tuberculosis.
It is estimated that 12,800 people die of tuberculosis each year in Cambodia. Because of CRS' efforts to train health workers and provide medication, 700 sick people like Phoan are getting well every year.
Photo by David Snyder for CRS 
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