Youth and volunteer teams have been introduced in Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu to raise awareness of tuberculosis and strengthen prevention as part of India’s TB-Free campaign.
District Collector Vishu Mahajan presented the JOSH team on Thursday and gave certificates and shields to 75 village panchayats recognized as TB-free in the 2025-26 financial year. The district has 403 village panchayats in total. Twelve received silver awards and 63 received bronze awards.
JOSH stands for Joint Squad for Health. Mahajan said the Central TB Division and MY Bharat are conducting a community-based survey of TB awareness in 55 districts. Five Tamil Nadu districts are included: Thoothukudi, Tiruchi, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri and Theni.
MY Bharat volunteers and National Cadet Corps students will support local activities and door-to-door assessments in selected villages. Mahajan urged residents to cooperate with the teams and seek screening at the nearest primary health centre if they have a cough or fever lasting two weeks or more, unexplained weight loss, heavy night sweats or other possible TB symptoms.
He called on local authorities, schools, youth groups and health services to work together toward a TB-free district. Health officials and representatives of Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital also attended the event.