New Delhi [India], October 7 (ANI): In a significant step towards further strengthening community participation in India’s fight against tuberculosis (TB), the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and the Ministry of Defence, will launch JOSH (Joint Squad for Health) Teams on October 8, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
In the first phase, JOSH Teams will be rolled out across 55 districts in 11 States, with the objective of strengthening youth-led community mobilisation and taking the message of TB Mukt Bharat to the grassroots.
Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilisers, Jagat Prakash Nadda, will lead the national launch of JOSH Teams in the presence of Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports; Sanjay Seth, Minister of State for Defence; and Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi. The event will bring together senior leadership and stakeholders from the participating Ministries, elected representatives, Class-I Officers, MY Bharat Volunteers, NCC Cadets and other stakeholders associated with India’s TB elimination efforts.
The programme will feature an achievement video highlighting key milestones of the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, followed by the formal launch of JOSH Teams. New Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials for the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan will also be launched. The event will further witness the launch of Khushi Avatar, an AI-powered chatbot, aimed at strengthening public awareness, community engagement and participation in the national effort towards TB elimination.
JOSH Teams have been envisaged as a structured mechanism to translate the energy and reach of India’s youth into organised community action for TB elimination. The teams will bring together Class-I Officers, MY Bharat Volunteers and NCC Cadets, combining administrative leadership with the extensive youth networks and community outreach capabilities of MY Bharat and NCC.
In the first phase, the initiative will focus on strengthening engagement at the Block/Ward and community levels, taking the TB Mukt Bharat message beyond health facilities and closer to people and communities where they live, work and interact.
Through community outreach and engagement, JOSH Teams will support the dissemination of key messages on TB symptoms, prevention, timely diagnosis and completion of treatment. They will also contribute to efforts to address myths and misconceptions surrounding TB, reduce stigma and encourage individuals, families and communities to participate actively in the national TB elimination movement.
The initiative seeks to enable young people to become active partners in the TB response, providing them with a defined platform to contribute to awareness generation, social mobilisation and community engagement. The convergence of Class-I Officers, MY Bharat Volunteers and NCC Cadets will further strengthen the connect between government programmes and communities at the grassroots.
The JOSH Teams initiative builds on the growing emphasis on community participation and Jan Bhagidari as important pillars of India’s TB elimination efforts. In 2025, 67,933 Panchayats across 697 districts were recognised as TB Mukt, reflecting the collective efforts of health workers, elected representatives, community members and volunteers in advancing the national TB elimination agenda.
This achievement underscores the importance of local leadership, community ownership and sustained participation in taking the TB elimination message to the last mile. JOSH Teams will build on this spirit of Jan Bhagidari by harnessing the energy, outreach and social networks of young people to further strengthen awareness, mobilisation and community participation in the TB response.
JOSH Teams represent the Government’s whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to TB elimination by bringing together the institutional strengths and outreach networks of the health, youth and defence sectors.
The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare will provide the overall public health and TB elimination framework, while the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and the Ministry of Defence will facilitate the participation of MY Bharat Volunteers and NCC Cadets, respectively, in community-level mobilisation and outreach.
The initiative reflects the Government’s continued emphasis on convergence across Ministries and sectors, enabling diverse institutional and community networks to contribute towards a common national goal.
The launch of JOSH Teams marks another important step in the Government’s efforts to build a people-centred, participatory and community-driven response to TB, with coordinated action involving Ministries, States and Union Territories, health workers, elected representatives, youth and citizens.
Through stronger grassroots engagement and greater Jan Bhagidari, JOSH Teams will further reinforce the collective resolve to build a TB Mukt Bharat. (ANI)
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