Project Axshya Overview
Part of the Global Fund Round 9 India TB Grant for the period 2010-15, project Axshya is a civil society initiative to strengthen TB care and control in India. Axshya (a Sanskrit word meaning ‘free from TB’), is a project co-ordinated by two civil society representative organisations, namely International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) South-East Asia Regional Office located in Delhi and World Vision India (WVI).
Axshya is a landmark project. It combines the forces of the Union – which has played a pivotal role in the fight against TB since 1920 – and the government of India, which has set in place one of the most successful TB programmes in the world, and yet continues to struggle with the world’s highest burden of TB. Project Axshya is a timely intervention that aligns with the Stop TB strategy and supports India’s tuberculosis programme to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
The overarching objectives of project Axshya activities are to support Government of India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) to expand its reach, visibility, and effectiveness, and to engage community-based providers to improve TB services, especially for women and children, marginalized, vulnerable and TB-HIV co-infected populations. Its guiding principles are a promotion of universal access to quality TB care, community participation, sustainable interventions, and equitable distribution with gender and social sensitivity.
Under the Union, Project Axshya is reaching out to nearly 570 million people including 170 million women, 150 million children, 250 million poor, 50 million tribal and 40 million slum dwelling persons. It will be active in 374 districts (300 districts by The Union and 74 districts by WVI) across 23 states/ union territories of India. The Union coordinated activities are being implemented in a phased manner – they have begun in 90 districts in year 1, expanded to include a further 150 districts during year 2, and will commence in the final 60 districts in year 3.