In the densely populated State of Madhya Pradesh, where there is a high burden of TB, the ACSM team is working hard to enable young school students to become pillars of community health and the fight against TB.
In partnership with the Madhya Pradesh Education Department and the State TB Cell, the team has conceptualised, designed and facilitated the Bal Ni-kshay Saathi (Young TB Ambassadors) initiative for school communities. The project empowers school students to become TB ambassadors through information sharing and mentoring by regional government TB Programme officials. These young TB ambassadors are educating their peers, teachers and families, through TB focused activities aimed at spreading awareness about the disease, promoting early testing and other health seeking behaviour.
Anisha Singh, Global ACSM Lead at The Union, said: “While the ACSM team had prepared a suggested list of engaging educational activities, it was delightful to see these young TB ambassadors enthusiastically innovate and adapt these ideas further. This included a range of TB themed competitions – debates, essay writing, painting, as well as designing TB focused public health assemblies, school plays and stigma mitigation sessions.
The ACSM team deployed this peer-to-peer learning model as a key driver of behaviour change, as it is a high-impact educational approach, where students learn from one another through structured interactions.
The initiative has been successfully adopted by the State TB Cell and rolled out in all 52 districts – resulting in over 1,200 school students becoming Bal Ni-kshay Saathis across private and public schools.
Ojaswi, 13 years old, attended a TB awareness session at her school and became motivated to become a Baal Ni-kshay Saathi. A keen learner, she understood the key symptoms of TB, especially persistent cough – something that many adults and even practitioners can sometimes overlook or trivialise. When she returned home from school that day, she realised her brother had been coughing continuously for several weeks. Recalling the session, the ever persistent and perceptive Ojaswi urged her parents to take him for TB testing without delay.
Catalysed by her insistence, the family got her brother tested and he was diagnosed with TB. With timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment, he successfully completed treatment and has now fully recovered. Today, Ojaswi continues to help her community as a Bal Ni-kshay Saathi.
Ojaswi said: “I learned in school that a persistent cough can be a sign of TB. When I saw my family member coughing for many days, I felt it was my responsibility to speak up. If we are aware and act on time, we can save our loved ones. I request everyone – please do not ignore symptoms. Getting tested early can save lives.”