EKTA NIKETAN TB CENTRE

a journey that does not stop

OUR HISTORY

Ekta Niketan was founded in 1980 by a British nurse and a medical doctor trained in India. They lived in a remote village in the state of Jharkhand in India and set up a community health programme. Being a neglected part of the country, the incidence of TB was very high in the area, particularly among poor tribal populations. TB patients from further villages started coming the community centre. Soon it became a centre to treat tuberculosis - Ekta Niketan TB Centre.

Ekta Niketan's journey continues. It has now become a popular TB centre in the area - a showcase of community-led TB programme.

After years of trials and practice of ‘where there is no doctor’ concept, Ekta Niketan is now a popular TB centre in the area that is successfully managed by a team of village health workers. With two satellite centres in neighbouring districts, each year 800+ suspected TB patients access the centre from surrounding districts, often by-passing their nearby government TB centres.

Since 2019, the TB centre is recognised by the national tuberculosis programme (NTEP); the local district administration provides medical supplies and supports with diagnostic kits. The government programme acknowledg the quality of TB care provided by Ekta Niketan’s health workers with minimum support from outside.

Under an Indian Sky narrates the history of Ekta Niketan TB Centre. The book, published by Penguin is out of print. For an extract of the book, please click the image.

If you like a like a copy the book (electronic version, please send a small donation and let us know the email address to send to. Thank you for your interest..