Mr Sputum, face of project to control TB

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Anuradha Mascarenhas: Kuala Lumpur, Nov 20 2012, 00:22 IST

Dressed in a outrageous suit and bow tie, Bulgum Bhai has peculiar eyebrows and waits in a den of sorts with a device to catch coughing sounds from all over. No sooner does he hear the sound than the superhero with twirling moustaches transports himself to the source and says, “Do hafte ho gaye kya?” (Have two weeks passed?) “If you have been coughing for more than two weeks, better get your sputum tested,” advises Bulgum Bhai.

It is India’s latest campaign for control of tuberculosis. The spoof, aimed at reversing perceptions about TB, is part of the ambitious Project Axshya, which means TB-free. And India’s campaign stood out among those of 123 countries that presented new strategies to break barriers and bring tuberculosis under control at the recently concluded Union World Conference on Lung Health in Kuala Lumpur.

Showcasing the success of Project Axshya was a poster presentation and a 13-minute video that showed how one of the remotest districts in the country, Neemuch at Madhya Pradesh, was able to identify as many as 1,256 TB suspects .

Axshya is a Global Fund Round 9 TB project, a civil society initiative, launched two years ago and expected to reach over 700 million people at 374 districts across 23 states in a phased manner. The recipients of the $199.54 million grant are the government, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and World Vision India.

Subrat Mohanty, project coordinator, told The Indian Express that one of the major highlights has been

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