More than 2,000 TB Champions are providing support to over 400,000 individuals with tuberculosis in India.
Over four lakh people with tuberculosis from across India received essential peer support and person-centred care from 2,000 TB survivors trained as Champions. This was announced by REACH, a non-profit organisation working on TB for the last 25 years, at the national dissemination meeting of the Unite to ACT Project, held in New Delhi.
Formally releasing the Impact Report and the impact film, Dr. Vinod Kumar Paul, former member NITI Aayog and public health expert emphasised the vital role of community engagement in eliminating TB in India. “REACH has developed and delivered a wonderful model that the world can emulate, with TB Champions at the forefront. You trained them, provided the tools, measured the impact, and the results are here for all to see,” he said.
TB Champions are TB survivors who work as community role models to raise awareness about TB and provide valuable care and support to people with TB. REACH has been at the forefront of pioneering the engagement and empowerment of communities affected by TB, positioning them as active stakeholders in the TB elimination programme. In 2018, the non-profit organisation first designed the training curriculum and trained TB survivors, resulting in India’s first group of motivated and committed TB Champions. This momentum led to the creation of state-level survivor-led networks and culminated in the official adoption of the model by the National TB Elimination Programme.
Also speaking on the occasion, TB Champion Arti Das from Ajmer in Rajasthan said, “Over the last two years, I’ve not only supported people through TB treatment but also forged deeper connections with them. This connection can make all the difference in their journey to recovery.”
Dr. Ramya Ananthakrishnan, Director of REACH, added, “Through the Unite to ACT project, we have witnessed firsthand the commitment of TB Champions in transforming lives and reducing stigma within communities, by drawing on their own personal experiences of TB and driven by the motivation that no one should suffer like they did. As a result, we have been able to improve the overall treatment success rates for people with TB supported through this project.”
The event also saw the presence of Mr. Arun Kumar Jha, former Economic Adviser, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; Dr. Raghuram Rao, Asstt. Director General, Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. Nishant Kumar, Joint Director, Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. Sarabjit Chadha, Regional Technical Director (India & South-East Asia), FIND and several other TB Champions.
The Unite to ACT project was implemented for three years in 11 states and 82 districts of the country, with support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria through the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics India (FIND).
REACH:
Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health (REACH) was established in Chennai in 1999 in response to the rolling out of the TB Programme in Tamil Nadu. For more information, please see www.reachindia.org.in
