Target TB working in partnership with Blossom Trust
Country/regional profile
India has a population of approximately 1.1 billion people. It is the 12th largest economy in the world, however, despite dramatic economic growth in recent years, over 25% of Indians still live on less than $1 a day.
India has the highest incidence of infectious TB in the world. Untreated cases of TB can be fatal and around 1,000 Indians die of TB everyday.
This project operates in Virudhunagar district, in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has one of the highest numbers of people living with HIV in India, and it is estimated that 50-60% of people with HIV in India will develop TB in their lifetime.
Virudhunagar district is well known for its match and fireworks industry which provides employment to many people. However working conditions are often poor with people working in dark and badly ventilated rooms which provide optimum conditions for TB transmission. As many people work as daily wage labourers, loss of income due to ill health can push whole families into poverty.
Our work with Blossom Trust
Blossom Trust edu-clowns perform
drama to raise awareness about TB
to the general public
Target TB has developed a partnership with Blossom Trust, a local NGO based in Virudhunugar District, Tamil Nadu. Established in 1993, Blossom Trust has developed a strong reputation working in the fields of women's development and HIV/Aids prevention and care. Through this work they found that TB was also a huge burden for local people and there was a need to integrate TB within their health and development programmes.
Project Aims
- To create awareness among people about TB and encourage them to link up with existing health services
- To provide TB treatment follow-up and monitoring through a network of community workers and self help group members.
- To build the capacity of self help group members, community based organisations and health care providers for effective TB control.
Project Activities
Volunteers and members of community groups from within Virudhunagar district are being trained and coordinated to carry out basic TB control activities, such as referral of people with TB symptoms to diagnostic centres, together with DOTS monitoring to improve cure and completion rates.
A TB education campaign is raising awareness about TB using Blossom Trust’s edu-clown street theatre troupe, cable TV programmes, mobile TB exhibitions and World TB day activities.
Blossom's approach focuses on using their established networks within local communities, to ensure wide dissemination of information about TB. They also work closely with government health services to improve access for local people to TB diagnostic and treatment facilities.