In an historic effort to eradicate one of the most deadly diseases in India, U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, and Sir Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, joined corporate leaders on September 10, 2015, to launch a dialogue for a tuberculosis-free India.

The "Mumbai Dialogue: Towards a TB Free India” event highlighted the plight of tuberculosis (TB) in India and emphasized the need for public-private partnerships and commitment from all levels of society to turn the tide against TB in India. According to the World Health Organization, 240,000 Indians die of TB each year, and nearly 100,000 suffer from multidrug-resistant TB. 

Bachchan, who himself successfully fought TB, reminded everyone, "As a TB survivor, I can also tell you that this is a disease that can be fought against and won over." Ambassador Verma called for a "multi-sectoral approach in which partners, public and private, should collaborate” to end TB.

Over the last 18 years, continued investment from the U.S. Government in India has resulted in close to $100 million to prevent and control TB, and it has helped to treat over 15 million people. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported numerous initiatives to help combat TB in India during this time, including critical long-term technical assistance at national, state, and district levels to support the Revised National TB Control Program. USAID also supports development and scale-up of innovative solutions for TB diagnosis and treatment, including a key demonstration study of GeneXpert® MTB/RIF, the first ever anti-TB drug resistance survey, and the Grand Challenges in TB Control initiative in partnership with IKP Knowledge Park and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Grand Challenges initiative seeks to identify, fund, and nurture technology-driven solutions that will assist in achieving a world free of TB.  

Learn more

• Find out more about USAID's work to address TB in India
• Read Ambassador Richard Verma's blog on the U.S.-India partnership for a TB-free India

Photo credit: Amitabh Bachchan