REACH World TB day - Partnership for TB Care and Control in India

World TB Day Activities at REACH
As part of the activities on World TB Day to use this day as a platform to create awareness
about the prevalence of the disease, its treatment and diagnosis, REACH has been involved in
a NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES.
*To build up awareness about the event of World TB Day and encourage people of all walks
of life to stop TB, the REACH Blog team has been actively blogging about the day and what
people can do to fight the disease, for the past two months on the blog segment of the
REACH media website, www.media4tb.org
*To encourage the media to take up the cause of TB on the event of World TB Day, hard
copies of media resource kits were mailed to media houses one week in advance
*As part of observing World TB Day, REACH in association with the State Tuberculosis
Office and a few other Non Governmental Organizations – Tamil Nadu State Aids Control
Society (TANSACS), Tamil Nadu Voluntary Health Association (TNVHA), Population
Services International (PSI) and Women’s Exclusive took part in a rally and public function
to mark the significance of the day, on March 23rd as a forerunner to the day.
REACH supported the event by sending out invites to an exhaustive list of media houses
including the print, radio and TV channels. Systematic follow up was carried out after
delivering the invites in person and through telephonic conversations, to ensure media
coverage of the event.
REACH also put up four kiosks carrying attractively displayed TB messages with the image
of actor Surya at four points spread out through the distance covered in the rally. These
kiosks were used to distribute water and butter milk packets to the participants.
The rally was organized from the Labor Statue, Marina Beach to the Light House at 4 p. m.
Around 1000 Self Help Group Women, government officials and representatives from the
NGO’s participated in the rally.
Thiru. V. K. Suburaj, I. A. S., Principal Secretary – Health, Government of India inaugurated
the rally was Dr. Vijayakumar., I. A. S., Project Director, TNHSP, Mr. Rajesh Lakhoni., I. A.
S., Commissioner, Chennai Corporation, Thiru Shambhu Kallolikar., I. A. S., Project
Director, TANSACS were among the guests of Honour.
The rally was a success with all the participants enthusiastically exhibiting their support to
create a TB free society, symbolizing the fact – together we can STOP TB!
The rally continued into a evening function to felicitate community DOTS providers at the
Queen Mary’s college auditorium. Around 600 SHG members participated in the function.
Actor and social activist Ms. Suhasini Maniratnam supported the cause by gracing the
function and enthusiastically encouraging and inspiring the crowd to fight TB. She urged
them to visualize a state free of the disease. She ended on a positive note by saying that “just
as we have proved ourselves in eradicating diseases like leprosy, so could we eradicate TB”.
*A segment on TB for the news of Jaya TV was shot at the REACH office, to be broadcast
on World TB Day. Dr. Nalini Krishnan, Director, REACH, spoke on the medical aspects of
the disease, Mr. Joseph, District Coordinator, talked of how the disease is being dealt with at
the community level and a cured patient shared her journey with the disease with the motive
of breaking the stigma associated with the disease.
* Ms. Anne Theresa Suresh Kumar took part in the breakfast show for the Asian College of
Journalism’s campus TV channel as a special guest on World TB Day. She spoke on the role
REACH plays as an NGO to control the disease and the importance of diagnosis and
treatment.
* REACH put up the vital TB facts and the REACH Helpline, with the image of actor Surya
in the form of 6 bus shelters in main points in the city, 50 bus backs and ads in news papers,
to create awareness on World TB Day.
* Community functions were organized in the districts also where REACH works through the
ACSM project.
In collaboration with Omayal Atchi College of Nursing, two community programs to create
awareness were carried out in the Arukambakkam village, Thiruvallore district for around
200 people. Apart from this an orientation program was also conducted for the college
students who have agreed to distribute pamphlets and carry the TB message in the
community for two days after World TB Day.
In the Tsunami Housing Board community, Semancheri village, Kancheepuram District an
awareness programme was carried out with the support of the NHRCRPO (National Human
Rights Consumer Rights Production Organization) for 500 people.
* The nursing students of C.S. I. Kalyani Hospital with the support of REACH conducted a
TB awareness program for 100 people in the hospital campus through an innovative chart
exhibition. The highlight of the program was a food exhibition displaying protein rich food to
be consumed to maintain a good immune system. The students also put up a skit; the REACH
staff also enacted a skit and Dr. Ezhilan of Kalyani hospital delivered the TB talk. Volunteers
were identified as well as patients with symptoms, through the program.