Goal (Single Overriding Objective)

To assist the efforts of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in achieving its goal to bring down the burden of TB in India till it ceases to be a public health problem.

Objective

To improve access to the diagnostic and treatment services of DOTS and thereby improve the quality of care for patients suffering from tuberculosis in fifteen states and one union territory of India, viz., the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh West Bengal and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Project Scope

Reaching out to a about 150,000 practitioners of modern medicine in an area covering about 75% of India’s population, the project is expected to create an impact on the quantum and quality of care and support provided to patients suffering from tuberculosis and to their families.

The project will carry out capacity building of IMA members in 15 states and 1 Union Territory through National and Unit workshops, Continuing Medical Education (CME) sessions at IMA local branches and finally through training of committed doctors in each of the project districts. The focus at each level will be to identify and involve physicians and general practitioners who are most likely to influence the desired change, which is to popularise the use of standardised diagnosis and treatment protocols for TB control in the country.

In addition to direct interaction and face-to-face contact, the project will communicate important aspects of the national TB programme, ISTC and new evidence based developments in TB control to IMA members in the project states through regular newsletters, journal articles and Information Education and Communication (IEC) material. The newsletters and journal articles will also discuss issues, concerns and FAQs pertinent to the medical profession in the context of TB management.

Through its efforts, the project will play the role of a catalyst in the involvement of medical professionals, especially private practitioners, in RNTCP and in the establishment of DOT centres at the clinics and hospitals run by them. This is expected to improve and advance the diagnosis of TB and contribute early treatment, with improved prognosis and outcome. With their involvement in RNTCP, doctors are expected to make it more convenient for patients (and their families) to access TB treatment through medical service providers, and timings, of their choice.

The project expects that with the achievement of a ‘critical mass’, in terms of medical providers involved in RNTCP, there will be widespread endorsement of DOTS and the ISTC by professional medical associations and individual practitioners, including those outside the membership of the Indian Medical Association. With greater acceptance and spread, the treatment of TB would be uniform, rational and evidence based and contributes to a decrease in the burden of disease and improved national productivity.

The IMA GFATM RNTCP PPM Project is progressing well.It has crossed sailent targets so far.The biggest challenges for IMA will be to transfer the efforts into solid public health contribution.The union cabinet clearance is awaited for RCC proposal after which the project will be extended to ten more states.