History

The Tuberculosis Association of India (TAI) has been serving the cause of tuberculosis since 1939. It is one of the oldest and largest voluntary organizations having its affiliates all over the country. It was set up in February, 1939 as a registered society by incorporating the King Emperor's Anti-Tuberculosis Fund and King George Thanks-giving (Anti-Tuberculosis) Fund. Her Excellency the Marchioness of Linlithgow was the first President of the Association when the Tuberculosis Association of India was established on February 23, 1939.

Its aims and objectives are:

• The prevention, control, treatment and relief of tuberculosis.
• The encouragement of and assistance in the establishment throughout India of State Associations having objectives similar in whole or in part to those of the Association.
• The affiliation or control of and the rendering of assistance to any institution having objectives similar in whole or in part to the objects of the Association.
• The undertaking of the Research and Investigation on subjects concerning tuberculosis and allied chest diseases.
• The doing of all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objectives.

Its members are the State Affiliates who nominate their representatives to its Annual General Meeting and Central Committee.

FOUNDER MEMBERS

• HER EXCELLENCY THE MARCHIONESS OF LINLITHGOW (President) (ex-officio)
  The Viceroy’s House, New Delhi
• MAJOR-GENERAL E.W.C. BRADFIELD, CIE, OBE, KHS, IMS
  Director-General (Ex-officio)
• COLONEL SIR A.J.H. RUSSELL, CBE, KHS, IMS
  Public Health Commissioner (ex-Officio)
• U.N.SEN, Esq., CBE,
  The Indian Red Cross Society
• Mr. A.C. BADENOCH, CST, CIE, ICS,
  Honorary Treasurer of the Association (ex-officio)

Activities of the Tuberculosis Association of India

The present major activities of the TAI are :

• Publication of the prestigious Indian Journal of Tuberculosis quarterly being uninterruptedly published since 1953. It’s the only journal in India devoted exclusively to the cause of tuberculosis and chest diseases.
• Organization of the National Conference on Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases (NATCON). Since the year 1939 the Association is organizing an annual conference wherein around 500 delegates from all over India assemble and exchange views, research papers and attend seminars on tuberculosis and diseases allied to it. NATCON is organised in collaboration with one or other of the State affiliates of the Association.
• TB Seal Campaign is organised every year. The Hon’ble President of India who is also the Patron of the Association generally inaugurates the Campaign on 2nd October, the Gandhi Jayanti Day at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The TB Seals Campaign conveys the message that TB is preventable. It also helps to raise funds for promoting voluntary anti-TB work in the country and provides opportunity to every citizen to contribute to the fight against this anti-human disease. The campaign is being organised since 1950.
• Providing quality diagnostic and treatment services through its New Delhi TB Centre.
• Complementing supplementing Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP), (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course) DOTS services of Government of India (GOI). No new units are to be established to avoid costs and duplication.

Achievements

• The TB Seals printed by the Association has won ‘First Prize of TB Seal Designs’ by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Paris, for the years 2006, 2007 and 2010 and in the year 1992 and 2005, won the ‘Second prize of TB Seal Designs’.

• In order to boost the IEC activities, the Association produced a film on Tuberculosis through the grants-in-aid of the Central TB Division of the Directorate General of Health Services and distributed to various TB Institutions and State TB Associations for their health education activities.

• The Association has also brought out educative flip charts for use by medico-social workers for the health education programme through the grants-in-aid of the Central TB Division.

• The Association is publishing a Souvenir every year on occasion of the inauguration of the TB Seal Campaign, which is inaugurated by H.E. the President of India (Patron of Association) on 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti) at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

• The Association also organized with the help of Delhi TB Association street plays and Nukad Nataks to propagate the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program / Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (RNTCP DOTS) programme.

• In creating the awareness of control of tuberculosis disease the Tuberculosis Association of India organizes an “On the Spot Painting Competition” essay competition etc.

• The Association organized the XIV International Tuberculosis Conference in New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan from January 7 to 11, 1957. The Hon’ble President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, inaugurated the Conference in New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan. The Prime Minister, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, addressed the Conference on January 10.

• The Association also organized the IX Eastern Region Tuberculosis Conference in 1974 and 1st South East Asia Region Conference in 2008 in New Delhi.