According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 26.07 lakh TB cases were reported in 2024, marking the highest-ever notification count.
PSI India’s TB-STRIVE Project is designed to accelerate progress toward a TB Mukt Bharat. By strengthening community-led action, the project addresses critical gaps in prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment adherence, with a strong focus on vulnerable and high-burden populations.
Earlier, under Project Axshya, PSI India deployed adaptive, new-age interventions across 10 states that bridged the traditional divide between the public and private sectors, ensuring accessible TB care for all. Project Axshya reached out to more than seven million beneficiaries spread across 10 states in India.
Ear to The Ground: People Come First
PSI India stands for an equitable and stigma-free TB response by prioritising listening to, supporting and respecting the opinion of people affected by TB, as well as those of other stakeholders and partners. Under TB-Strive, Nikshay Diwas serves as a platform for community dialogue, reinforcing treatment adherence and enhancing coordination with health officials. PSI India team plays a pivotal role in supporting the govt. in active case finding. Around 99,554 individuals were screened, leading to the identification of 2,178 presumptive TB cases, of which 172 individuals were diagnosed with TB and linked to appropriate treatment services.
PSI India have continuously invested in new approaches, strategies and technologies to scale up treatment; simultaneously, we strive to decentralise service delivery to bring it closer to patients.
For example, the TB-STRIVE project deploys real-time reporting to improve timeliness, accuracy, and monitoring of reported data. Additionally, IEC materials developed under the project strengthen community-level outreach and engagement efforts.
Previously, PSI India through the Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project had demonstrated the successful integration of TB services with other urban public health initiatives, enabling the development of state-specific plans for TB elimination.
In its second phase, the e-pharmacy model leveraged digital technology to ensure doorstep delivery of anti-TB drugs and diagnostic services. It also uploaded verified patient data to the government’s Nikshay and Nikshay Aushadhi portals, ensuring an accurate and up-to-date patient registry.
PSI India follows a vigorous training and engagement process to strengthen TB response at the community level. Through targeted capacity-building, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are equipped to identify, counsel, and refer TB patients across diverse age groups, ensuring timely linkage to services. They also conduct regular household visits to support follow-up and treatment adherence, driving better outcomes across all intervention districts.
PSI India collaborates with District TB Officers, TB Unit staff, and ASHAs to enhance service delivery, design targeted interventions, and tailor behaviour change communication (BCC) activities for diverse community groups.
Regular engagement with frontline workers, such as participation in monthly ASHA meetings strengthens awareness-generation and referral initiatives. Collaboration with Gram Panchayats, ward members, and school principals enables to organize awareness sessions to educate communities on TB symptoms, referral options, and available government support. School-based sessions further sensitize children and families, ensuring information reaches households effectively.
Beyond awareness, these collaborative efforts ensure timely TB screening, improve treatment adherence among patients, and support vulnerable patients in accessing schemes like Nikshay Poshan Yojana for nutritional assistance.
