IMA GFATM RNTCP Project

 IMA is the largest NGO of the works with a membership of over two lac spared over 1700 branches and 30 state branches. IMA communicates to its members daily though emails and or SMS apart from its regular publications.

Under the IMA GFATM RNTCP Project and IMA TB initiative IMA has been engaged in the following activities

1.      Sensitization of doctors in Standards of TB care

2.       Need for notification - follow up and cure

3.      Training of general practitioners in standards of TB care

4.      Institution of Peripheral Health Institution

5.      IEC activities

6.      Media Advocacy

7.      Celebrity endorsement

Sensitization of doctors in Standards of TB care: IMA has been able to sensitize over one lac private doctors. 

Sensitization of doctors in Standards of TB care: Patients notified in private sector if lost in follow up could result in multi drug resistant TB

Need for notification - follow up and cure: All patients of TB needs to be notified and followed up till they are cured. IMA has helped in identifying, follow, treat and cure one lakh ( 104000  to be exact) out of one million missing TB cases in India.  Out of these 33913 cases were sputum positive and infectious to the community. Each sputum positive case spreads infection to 15 other healthy persons and ten percent of all TB infected persons develop clinical disease. IMA has been able to avert about 508695 new TB infections due to reduction of TB transmission by treating infective TB cases. Out of these ten percent, 50870 cases could have developed clinical TB disease. Three percent of them, 1526 cases could have become drug resistant over time.

Treatment of 1526 drug resistant cases could have caused the government extra cost of over 30.52 crores ( Rs 2 lac per treatment). Apart IMA's contribution has been able to check impending Drug resistant TB epidemic.

Training of general practitioners in standards of TB care: IMA has trained and provided a TB faculty cum experts of over 16000 doctors in the country. All these doctors follow one TB treatment protocol adhering to Standards of TB Care in India. This itself further checks the development of MDR TB.

Start of Peripheral Health Institutions: IMA is also linking private doctors and private doctors owned clinical establishments into the loop of DOTS centers by way of establishing peripheral health institutes. A PHI is a center in private sector linked to government DOTS and provided confidential and free treatment to the public. Over 1700 such centers have been established by IMA so far. IMA hospital Board of India has been rope in by IMA to expand its scope of PHI centers. HBI has over 10000 member.

Talks are also on with National Accreditation Board of Hospitals to accreditate PHI in regards to quality and safety.

·         IEC activities: At National, State and Branch levels include

·         Sensitization of School and College Principals

·         Sensitization of medical college students

·         Sensitization of Nursing School and Colleges

·         CME for general practitioners

·         Rally, Walks, Run, Exhibitions etc events

·         Fairs, Melas etc

·         Competitions: Poster, slogan, painting, dances, music etc etc

Media Advocacy: IMA regularly organizes media sensitization programs for the benefits of the public, at National, State and Branch levels

Celebrity endorsement: Padma Awardees of the country have joined hands for social causes of National Interest. They include Birju Maharaj, Sonal Man Singh, Purshottal Lal,  , Uma Sharma, Amjad Ali Khan, Naresh Trehan, Ambrish Mithal, Ashok Seth, T S klair, Neelam Klair, Arvind Lal, Sudhir Tailang, Sovna Narayan, Geeta Chandran, Satpal, Surinder Sharma, Ashok Chakradhar and many others.

IMA slogan for the general practitioners" I have notified a TB patient today: have you. Do it today