A Note from the U.S. Ambassador to India Richard R. Verma

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced that the TB epidemic in India is larger than previously estimated, with approximately 2.8 million new cases in 2015. Despite a strong national control program, TB continues to be a leading cause of death in India. Even as the TB incidence rate and number of related deaths continues to fall, it claims 1,000 lives each day in India, most of which are poor and vulnerable people living in low income communities.

In order to reach targets to end TB, research and innovation are a critical component of the Call to Action for a TB-Free India. Better tools are required to control TB, including new technology to improve TB diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The development of quick, sensitive, and affordable point-of-care diagnostics and research to develop new drugs and vaccine candidates are critical to eliminating TB incidence and deaths. It is important for the U.S. Government agencies to continue their efforts to coordinate research platforms while engaging Indian and other global partners in the public and private sectors.

This issue of our interagency newsletter highlights some of the research initiatives the U.S. Government is supporting in India, as well as other events the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for International Development (USAID) have supported in recent months.