‘Tuberculosis champions’ Complete Six-Month Mentorship

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Tuberculosis (TB) survivors and champions are frontline soldiers in the fight against TB and can play an important role in supporting people with TB in the State.

This is what Anurag Goel, Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Assam said at a review meeting in Guwahati on Saturday. The meeting marked the end of a six-month mentorship programme of the department.

The meeting was organized by REACH, as part of the TB Call to Action Project, in collaboration with the State TB Cell and with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Speaking at the valedictory session, Assam State TB Officer Dr N.J. Das said, “TB champions are one of the most important elements in the fight against TB. The state TB programme hopes they continue to contribute their efforts to the community towards TB elimination.”

The meeting was attended by 32 TB champions from 22 districts of the State. In the six-month period, 17 TB champions from 14 districts (current batch of mentorship programme) provided psychosocial support to over 1,400 people with TB, and helped identify people with symptoms and connect them to TB care services.

Assam’s TB champions have formed a state-level network called Jyoti End TB Assam (JETA), which was initiated in July 2018, in the presence of J.V.N Subramanyam, the then Mission Director National Health Mission (NHM), Assam. Through this network, TB champions will work to reduce the burden of TB in the state.

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