India has increased its efforts to eradicate tuberculosis (TB), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is now training researchers from seven countries in the South East Asian Region (SEAR), namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Timor Leste, Indonesia, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, to stop the disease from spreading from those countries.

The training programme for the experts from these nations will include information on how to identify research gaps in treatment, diagnostics, and infrastructure. Dr Padmapriyadarsini, director at the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), stated that the programme was more of a learning experience about how to identify and address any gaps in the TB elimination programme, how to conduct operational research, and how one can address these issues to reach the TB elimination target in their countries. Hence, it involved field research and training to improve capacity in these nations.

Although the issues related to TB in the participating countries are similar to those seen in India, some of these countries have significant TB burdens while others have low burdens. For instance, TB mortality and prevalence are high in Indonesia. The Maldives has a low TB load; however, it has problems with migrants and getting people to finish their treatment.

Lastly, Dr Padmapriyadarsini stated that training and action will continue over the next couple of years to achieve the shared objective of TB eradication. She added that India has about 1.35 million TB patients, out of which 12,28,116 are adults and 76,575 are children below the age of 14. 

(Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-trains-se-asia-scientists-in-tb-research-treatment-11676914451367.html )