The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Defence, will launch JOSH (Joint Squad for Health) Teams on October 8 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
In the first phase, JOSH Teams will be rolled out across 55 districts in 11 states to strengthen youth-led community mobilisation and take the message of TB Mukt Bharat to the grassroots.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers J.P. Nadda will lead the national launch. Union Minister for Labour and Employment and Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will also attend the event.
The launch will bring together senior officials and stakeholders from the participating ministries, elected representatives, Class-I officers, MY Bharat volunteers and NCC cadets involved in India’s efforts to eliminate tuberculosis.
The programme will feature a video highlighting key milestones of the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, followed by the formal launch of the JOSH Teams. New Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials for the campaign will also be unveiled.
An AI-powered chatbot, Khushi Avatar, will also be launched to strengthen public awareness, community engagement and participation in the national effort towards TB elimination.
Youth participation in grassroots TB mobilisation
JOSH Teams have been designed to channel the reach and energy 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 youth networks and community outreach capabilities of MY Bharat and the NCC.
During the first phase, the initiative will focus on engagement at the block, ward and community levels, taking the TB Mukt Bharat message beyond health facilities and closer to local communities.
Through outreach activities, JOSH Teams will disseminate information on TB symptoms, prevention, timely diagnosis and completion of treatment. They will also work to address myths and misconceptions surrounding TB, reduce stigma and encourage greater community participation in the national TB elimination campaign.
The initiative will provide young people with a structured platform to contribute to awareness generation, social mobilisation and community engagement.
Building on Jan Bhagidari
The initiative builds on the Government’s focus on Jan Bhagidari, or people’s participation, as an important pillar 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.
The JOSH Teams will build on this community-led approach by harnessing the outreach and social networks of young people to strengthen awareness, mobilisation and participation in the TB response.
Whole-of-government approach
The initiative reflects a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach by bringing together the health, youth and defence sectors for a common national objective.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will provide the public health and TB elimination framework, while the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Defence will facilitate the participation of MY Bharat volunteers and NCC cadets in community-level mobilisation and outreach.
The launch of JOSH Teams marks another step towards strengthening a people-centred and community-driven response to tuberculosis, with coordinated participation from ministries, states and Union Territories, health workers, elected representatives, youth and citizens.
-PIB
