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With the motive of ending Tuberculosis, one of the world’s leading causes of death, #ChangeTB campaign was launched on November 20, 2015 by Stop TB Partnership. The campaign was launched to spread awareness about tuberculosis or TB in a global scale.

“The campaign is simple - we know we need to change the way we act on TB if we are to succeed in ending TB, and change starts with us. Join us in telling the world what you plan to do in the fight against TB using the #ChangeTB hashtag”, Mark Dybul, Executive Director, GFATM and Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director, Stop TB Partnership stated in the campaign website. Stop TB Partnership has also launched its next 5 year strategy, ‘Global Plan to End TB 2016-2020: The Paradigm Shift’. Specifically, this 5-year implementation plan talks about “preventing TB, active case finding and contact tracing, focusing attention to key vulnerable and marginalized groups, developing and roll out of new tools, and implementing TB services packages that are comprehensive and work in different type of epidemic and socioeconomic environments”.

Supporting the cause, Health Research and Social Development Forum (HERD) family sent messages via Twitter to the global community to change our approaches of tackling TB. Some of the messages as commitments were:

• Pragya Karki, “I will take care of my health and inform those around me about my health.”
• Shophika Regmi, “I will speak more about TB.”
• Rekha Khatri, “I will share findings from TB related research projects.”
• Santosh Gyawali, “I will promote TB awareness programmes.”
• Jyoti Limbu, “I will act as what I learnt about TB.”
• Deena Giri, “I will always come forward and give a helping hand.”
• Shyam Kandel, “I will advocate private health care providers about TB.”
• Sudip Jung Karki, “I will make environment tobacco free.”
• Bhagiman Lingden, “I urge the global community to work towards making DOTS universal.”
• Abriti Arjyal, “I will not discriminate people with TB.”
• Prabin Shrestha, “I will advocate on the rights of TB patients.”

HERD, has been actively involved in tackling TB. It has been involved in active TB case finding in Nepal using innovative GeneXpert technology and mobile vans through ‘TB REACH' project, which was initiated in 2013. Two mobile vans have been deployed to various places of 22 districts of Nepal targeting unreached population – slum dwellers, people living with HIV (PLHIV), household contacts of TB patients, factory workers, refugees and monasteries, diabetic patients and prisoners. Post-earthquake, the mobile vans have been deployed at some places of Kathmandu targeting displaced people living in various camps.

Currently, HERD is providing technical support to National Tuberculosis Programme in developing 5-Year ‘National TB Strategic Plan 2016-2020’.