News & Updates

For decades now, USAID has partnered with the Government of India to eliminate Tuberculosis (TB) by investing in health programs aimed at early diagnosis, treatment, and care of those at risk or living with TB. USAID supports the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) through its partners, who address the TB patient care cascade through community-led, person-centered prevention models that support early and accurate diagnosis and successful treatment of TB.

USAID-supported Breaking The Barriers project is a community engagement initiative to accelerate TB elimination in India implemented by the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) in four states: Assam, Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana. The populations served include urban vulnerable groups, tribal groups, mining & industrial groups, tea garden workers, and migrants.

KHPT’s effective behavior change operational models have been recognized at the national level by the former Union Health Minister. The National TB Elimination Programme launched KHPT’s Community Engagement toolkit in May 2021. KHPT was invited by the TB division of the health ministry to facilitate sessions on community engagement at national-level Training of Trainers programs for three zones.

Some of the achievements of the project from the year 2021 include mapping conducted to identify populations vulnerable to TB infection in target districts, establishing over 170 care and support groups, and training of over 967 staff from the NTEP. Through the project, 7,679 patients were served and over 408 TB champions were trained.

The project completed a primary behavior change study which led to the development of behavior change solutions specific to vulnerable population groups. The project also completed a strategy paper for tackling barriers to health-seeking behavior.

The project has organized various activities such as virtual round table discussion, virtual workshops, Facebook live sessions, engaging with PRI and religious leaders, and podcasts to align with Jan Andolan, a campaign by the national TB program. A series of communication materials were developed to push advocacy and communication around TB.