Summary
The urban Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) programme which is one of the critical components of National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) was launched in 2013. The Mission aims at improving health status of the urban population particularly slum dwellers and providing essential primary healthcare services with reduced out of pocket expenses. ASHAs are incentivized community health workers, who link the community and health services and contribute in improving health seeking of the urban poor. Prevalence of Tuberculosis (TB) along with other infectious and non-infectious comorbidities is alarming in urban poor populations. Hence, augmentation of available health resources including frontline health workers such as urban ASHAs is essential for India’s commitment for ending TB by 2025.
The Foundation for Medical Research (FMR) undertook a pilot evaluation of U-ASHA programme in Mumbai and Pune Cities and assessed their preparedness for TB control as one of the vertical health programmes (2022-23).
