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A total of 2,390 Gram Panchayats in Tamil Nadu have been declared tuberculosis (TB)-free for 2025.
Asha Frederick, State TB Officer, said the ‘TB Free Panchayat’ initiative aimed to make TB elimination a community-owned movement at the grassroots level, with panchayats supporting prevention, early identification, diagnosis, treatment, and patient support. After verification under the national framework, 2,390 gram panchayats in the State were declared TB-free for the year 2025. These panchayats were felicitated in their respective districts recently, and the collective efforts of panchayat representatives, health teams, and communities were acknowledged.
The criteria for declaring a panchayat as TB-free included — achieving a target of examining 30 or more presumptive TB persons through NAAT and/or microscopy per 1,000 population in the year, a TB notification rate of one or fewer per 1,000 population for the year, and a treatment success rate of 90% or more among notified drug-sensitive TB patients.
Recently, the JOSH Team (Joint Squad for Health) was launched nationally by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of Defence. In Tamil Nadu, Thoothukudi, Tiruchi, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, and Theni were the five districts selected for the phase-I implementation of the JOSH teams’ field activities.
TB-free panchayats
The estimated TB incidence in Tamil Nadu declined from 192 per lakh population in 2015 to 171 per lakh in 2024 During January–September 2026, 65,259 patients with TB were notified in Tamil Nadu, underscoring the need to sustain early detection, treatment and community-level action
The State has intensified early detection through targeted screening, chest X-ray, molecular testing, treatment initiation, preventive therapy and differentiated care for high-risk TB patients.
The TB Free Panchayat initiative aims to make TB elimination a community-owned movement at the grassroots level, with panchayats actively supporting prevention, early identification, diagnosis, treatment and patient support.
To further strengthen community participation, TB Mukt Bharat Teams (JOSH Teams) are being introduced at the block level.
Source: National TB Elimination Programme, Tamil Nadu
The teams are being introduced at the block level to strengthen community participation. Each team is led by a designated Class-I Nodal Officer and supported by five “MY Bharat” volunteers and five NCC cadets. These teams will support TB awareness, regular community outreach, identification, and referral of persons with TB symptoms, mobilisation for screening, and other field-level TB elimination activities in coordination with the National TB Elimination Programme.
Dr. Asha Frederick said that at the block level, the JOSH Team would mobilise communities to spread awareness about TB, early symptoms, and available free diagnostic and treatment services, conduct village/ward-level awareness drives, and youth-led campaigns. They will be involved in patient support and handholding by acting as local “support buddies” for TB patients adopted under the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative and will also encourage treatment adherence, provide psychosocial support, and reduce stigma. The teams will build a cadre of young TB Champions to strengthen “TB Mukt Bharat” movement.
She added that the JOSH Teams would also facilitate the distribution of nutritional kits provided by Ni-kshay Mitras (donors) to patients and link patients to additional welfare schemes (ration, social security, health benefits).
Published - October 16, 2026 12:24 am IST