“Families generally isolate them which dampens patients’ physical and emotional well-being. The real challenge is to mobilise them to avail medical and other services,” said Khushboo. Equipped with previous experience of community work to seek holistic health through programmes spearheaded by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), she volunteered for ‘Ni-kshay Mitra’ – a community support to TB patients in Ambah Block, Morena District in Madhya Pradesh from 2023 to 2024. With consistent aid from seniors, she helped her sister-in-law to recover quickly. At this stage, she understood the overarching role of community-led institutions to fill gaps and address challenges to eliminate TB at household level. Since joining the SHG in 2019, Khushboo has been noticing wider reach and impact of collective actions of women-led institutions that make welfare policies accessible and effective. “As a Ni-kshay Mitra in my Block, I wanted to connect TB patients to avail medical and nutritional benefits offered at District TB Centre (DTC),” she added.
She conducted campaigns and awareness activities in Ambah Block such as screening of households. “Screening helped to identify 49 positive patients from five households, who immediately received medication and other benefits,” said Khushboo. Closer observation during screening camps revealed malnutrition exacerbates the health shocks in many households. “To tackle multi-dimensional aspects of TB, we supported distribution of monthly food baskets to identified patients,” said Khushboo, who received support from fellow SHG members in TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (TMBA).
Gaining more knowledge about TB by embarking on the path to capacity building, advocacy and awareness generation opened avenues for Khushboo and others. “I could save lives of two malnourished females gripped by TB by constantly nudging their families to receive medicines and recommended meals from DTC,” added Khushboo. Their recovery journey brought tremendous social behaviour change in Ambah Block. The training for Ni-kshay Mitra helped Khushboo to notice even slight symptoms of TB. “After spotting TB symptoms during routine interactions, I encouraged many people to seek medical interventions and shared correct information with them. Visits to Ni-kshay Shivirs helped in busting prevailing myths on TB. Now, people show empathy towards patients and their families,” said Khushboo.
The immersive experience and understanding on the importance of nutrition-sufficient diets remained with her. Determined Khushboo accepted another responsibility of ‘Poshan Sakhi’ under DAY-NRLM. The nutrition-rich diets, health-seeking behaviour, creation of agri-nutri garden to access year-round fruits and vegetables for families should be prioritized for better immunity to avert illness, asserts Khushboo, who in her current role sensitises communities on Food, Nutrition, Health and WaSH in five village panchayats. She was recognized as ‘TB Champion’ in 2023 by DTC for making TMBA into jan bhaagidaari movement. Khushboo’s trailblazing efforts and relentless support to communities are indeed valuable contributions towards Swasth and Viksit Bharat!
(This article is based on conversation with Ms Khushboo Sharma on the sidelines of events commemorating World TB Day on March 24, 2025)