Manu Mayank (Head of Sustainability, HPPI) presented the key highlights of the impactful Project LEAD (Leveraging, Engaging and Advocating to Disrupt TB transmission) at the recently concluded “Learning Meeting: Cough Sound-Based AI Tools for Improved TB Care,” organised by USAID India. The event was held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 25th June 2024.

LEAD TB Project has been implemented in four mega cities of Delhi, Hyderabad, peri-urban Mumbai and Howrah. The project has focused on urban marginalised populations including homeless, mobile and migratory population, and people living in low-grade slums, where the level of awareness is low, stigma is high, health seeking behaviour is nearly non-existent, and access to health services is very poor. The culturally appropriate and tailored care cascade model has screened over 600,000 individuals, identified 3,182 PwTBs, and has been effectively supporting 98%+ with treatment adherence.

In partnership with Wadhwani AI, we piloted their Cough Against TB CAT Application using basic smartphones, which is an AI powered cough-sound based screening tool to assess the likelihood of Pulmonary TB in individuals for early detection and treatment. The CAT Application was piloted in Delhi with 16,387 screenings among the target population, which resulted in 10.8% presumptive rate and a positivity yield of 15.6%. One of the highlights of using this Application has resulted in detecting Asymptomatic cases, which otherwise would have been missed.

HPPI is implementing Project LEAD among the homeless, migratory and urban slum populations in four mega cities: Delhi, Howrah, Hyderabad and peri-urban Mumbai, in partnership with USAID, TB Implementation Framework Agreement (TIFA), JSI and the Central Tuberculosis Division (CTD).