A media roundtable discussion, hosted jointly by the State TB Cell, Government of Assam and KHPT titled ‘Winning the Battle Against TB: Adopting a community-based Approach to Behaviour Change’, was organized in Guwahati, focused on the need to address barriers to TB treatment and care and a community-based approach, with a way forward.
The meeting was addressed by Dr. Avijit Basu, Joint Director cum State TB Officer, Department of Health Services, Government of Assam and Dr. Dhrubajyoti Deka, Regional Technical Lead, World Health Organisation. In attendance were Dr. Rehana Begam, Programme Director, KHPT, Prasenjit Das, State Lead, Breaking the Barriers, Assam, KHPT, Dr. Sukriti Chauhan, Advocacy and Programme Lead, KHPT, community representatives and the members of the media.
KHPT works to effectively address public health challenges that impact the most vulnerable and marginalized communities across India. Earlier this year, the Assam government announced the commendable goal of reducing the tuberculosis infection rate from 217 per lakh in 2015 to 44 per lakh by 2025 under the ongoing National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP).
The importance of amplifying the issue and the media’s important role was addressed in a discussion ‘Why Media Is a Critical Partner’ moderated by Dr. Sukriti Chauhan, Advocacy and Programme Lead, KHPT.
