TB free India: Reaching the unreached tribal population under National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.

India is the highest TB burden country in the world. The burden however is not uniform in different strata including tribal population - one of the key affected populations in the country. As the evidences from tribal population are hardly available, most of the policies and strategies implemented under National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) are usually based on the evidences from general populations. NTEP is continuously taking steps to strengthen TB services in tribal areas. The Social Action Plan including Tribal Action Plan is in place and the appropriate strategies are incorporated in the National Strategic Plan (NSP) to ensure universal access to quality TB services to vulnerable population groups. However, its implementation becomes challenging especially in tribal areas as different tribal groups have their own unique ways of dealing with health issues. These issues are therefore required to be addressed holistically involving all the stakeholders. In view of this a symposium was jointly organized by the Central TB Division (CTD), Govt. of India and ICMR - National Institute of Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH), Jabalpur on 17th and 18th December, 2019 at ICMR - NIRTH, Jabalpur. It provided an excellent platform for all the stakeholders from different parts of the country to share their experiences in tuberculosis particularly among marginalized populations. The recommendations emerged out of this interactive symposium highlight the sincere effort of NTEP to tackle TB situation in tribal population and show the way forward towards India's TB elimination goal by 2025 especially in hard to reach tribal areas.

Exploring knowledge and healthseeking behaviour related to sexually transmitted infections among the tribal population of Madhya Pradesh, central India.

This community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the tribal population of randomly selected villages of Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh, central India. A total of 200 married men and women aged 15­49 years were interviewed to explore their knowledge, experience and health-seeking behaviour related to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Though 91% of respondents were aware of STIs, the sexual route was mentioned by only 19%as the route of transmission. Around 18% reported a need for social isolation from persons with STIs. Though 88% of the respondents felt modern medicine was the best remedy for STIs, only a few of them used medical treatment while suffering from an STI. Twenty-seven per cent of respondents resorted to traditional healers, and 30% utilized home remedies for STI treatment. The study highlights a need for generating STI awareness amongst the tribal population of the region through a needs-based behaviour change communication (BCC)strategy.