EHA

The one-year ACSM (Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization) project aims to engage communities and community-based care providers to improve TB care and control, especially for marginalized and vulnerable populations including TB-HIV patients; and to improve the reach, visibility and effectiveness of RNTCP through civil society support in Churachandpur, Chandel, Ukhrul and Bishnupur districts of Manipur.

The project works through Formation and capacity building of community support groups (social mobilization), advocacy meetings to facilitate intersectoral linkages between District TB Officer and key health staff, local NGOs/CBOs and representatives from community forum, destigmatization meetings in schools and religious places, community outreach for awareness through observation of world TB, Tobacco day(advocacy) ; and community empowerment through workshops, DOTs providers training for community volunteers; Sputum collection, default retrieval and treatment facilitation by community volunteer.

Over the last few months, through the project interventions, most of the DOT centres and DOT providers under RNTCP which were not functioning were revitalized, and more new DOT centres and DOT providers were appointed in Churachandpur & Saikot block. Successful rapport has been built with the community. Local NGOs working with People living with HIV/AIDS have begun to refer their clients for sputum testing. More people from the project partner churches have come forward for sputum test after the implementing agency had carried out ACSM activities in the project area.

Many lives have been touched by the observation of World No Tobacco Day- through the powerful messages and testimonies that were shared. The Chief Guest of the event gave up chewing tobacco from that day, and challenged the youth and tobacco users to give up abuse of Tobacco. School students who participated in the competition were greatly influenced to abstain from using tobacco.