USAID announces $1 mn for TB awareness in India

Hyderabad, Nov 30 (IANS) The US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday announced $1 million to create awareness about Tuberculosis (TB) to help India in its fight against the disease.

Announcing this here on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), USAID Director Mark Green said the move would support Prime Minister Modi's ultimate goal of securing a TB-free India by 2025.

India has the world's highest incidence of TB, with 2.8 million cases annually, and accounts for more than a quarter of the global TB burden.

India also has the largest burden of multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) among all countries, with almost 150,000 cases every year.

TB claims over 435,000 Indian lives each year, which places TB among the top ten causes of death in the country.

USAID feels the TB stigma disproportionately affects women.

In India, as in many countries around the world, people often fear how others will treat them if they are diagnosed with TB. Women diagnosed with TB report that their families, employers and communities shun and discriminate against them, said a statement.

USAID has supported the TB programme of India since 1998, and has invested more than $140 million to strengthen the capacity of national, state, and district-level TB programmes. USAID has also introduced new tools and approaches to reach, cure and prevent TB in India successfully.

The current objectives of the USAID/India TB portfolio are to strengthen the detection and treatment of TB, including a focus on drug-resistant strains; assist the government to plan and implement evidence-based interventions to reach a TB-Free India; and improve patient-centred TB services in private provider settings.

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