Underdiagnosis continues to be one of the greatest barriers to ending tuberculosis (TB), with nearly one-third of cases not diagnosed each year, leaving millions without care and communities at risk of allowing TB to spread.
In India, which accounts for more than a quarter of the global burden of TB with an estimated 2.95 million cases, Johnson & Johnson is championing nurses and community health workers (CHWs), like Enumula Raju, to connect communities, like those living with TB, to care.
Through J&J CareCommunity, Johnson & Johnson’s social impact platform that is championing nurses and CHWs and strengthening community-centered care, we are supporting programs and campaigns that equip CHWs with the support and resources they need to address the complex barriers that keep patients from care, including stigma, misperceptions about treatment, socioeconomic factors and limited access to greater health systems.
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Community health workers: connecting communities to care
In four districts across India, Enumula Raju and his team of 25 field staff at TB Alert conduct daily outreach in areas where data shows high numbers of undiagnosed TB cases, going door-to-door and organizing awareness campaigns to overcome barriers to seeking care.
“TB is a terrible disease, killing people, even though it is preventable and curable,” says Raju. “Due to stigma and illiteracy, if anyone is infected tries to keep away and not reveal their status. Our continuous awareness programs are helping to change that.”
As members of their communities, CHWs like Raju’s team are key to filling knowledge gaps and connecting people to care. They help identify cases, direct patients to healthcare providers for treatment and provide ongoing support—often serving as the first and only link between communities and the health system.
By supporting CHWs like Raju and organizations like TB Alert, we’re helping to transform how communities understand and respond to TB, allowing it to be discussed openly, diagnosed early and treated. Their daily work is building a bridge between innovative treatments and those who need them most, moving us closer to a TB-free world—one patient at a time.
At Johnson & Johnson, we believe that when health workers thrive, care improves for everyone. To that end, we support community-enabled care. Through our efforts, with support from the J&J Foundation, we have reached over 1 billion lives and supported over 3.7 million health workers since 2021.
Learn more about how we support community health workers around the world through J&J CareCommunity.
