USAID extends funding for projects for TB-free India
New Delhi, Jan 29 - To support India's efforts to end tuberculosis, US development agency USAID today announced grants aimed at scaling up innovative solutions for combating the disease in a country where an estimated 2.2 million such cases are reported annually.
"We have made great strides towards ending TB in India, but much more work remains. Partnerships, technology and innovations are essential tools to find low-cost, sustainable solutions to address public health challenges, including TB," US Ambassador to India, Richard R Verma, said after the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) announcement.
As part of the Tuberculosis Health Action Learning Initiative (THALI) project, USD 7.5 million has been awarded to the World Health Partners (WHP) for implementing activities in Kolkata while another USD 7.5 million has been awarded to Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) for work in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune.
"These projects will help catalyse solutions and best practices for the successful diagnosis and treatment of TB in hard-to-reach populations. Together we can achieve a TB-free India," added Verma.
Also, a USD 6 million award was signed with REACH (Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health) to help sustain momentum generated by the government's Call to Action for a TB-free India campaign.
An official statement said that "USAID today announced three new awards to support the Government of India's efforts to end TB" in the country.
"These awards will assist the government with testing and scaling innovative solutions to prevent, test and treat TB, especially among under-served urban slum dwellers and other low-income populations," the statement added.
A recent WHO report says India has the highest number of tuberculosis cases in the world.
As per the WHO Global TB Report, 2015, in 2014, 2.2 million cases were estimated in India, higher than any other country, Union Health Minister JP Nadda had recently told Lok Sabha.
In the last 18 years, USAID has worked with the Indian government to help diagnose and treat 15 million patients for TB. Despite this, an estimated 2.2 million cases are reported annually, 220,000 of which prove fatal. This is the highest number of deaths from TB anywhere in the world.
"This shared objective will be achieved by encouraging the adoption and implementation of best practices and innovations for the prevention, detection, and treatment of TB, raising awareness to reduce the social stigma associated with the disease, and empowering communities.
"USAID is also encouraging the private sector to increase its contribution to the TB-free campaign through social corporate responsibility," the statement said.
Source: Press Trust of India
