70 2021 ESG Report Transparency Responsible supply chain Product impact Climate change Introduction Healthy workforce and communities Appendices As part of the CTP, BD has undertaken a TB Free Workplace campaign across Indian office locations and sensitized about 50 percent of BD’s Indian associates on the importance of early and appropriate diagnosis of TB. The sensitization sessions included talks by the CTD and USAID officials for BD associates, a video screening and a general awareness quiz. The campaign was highlighted in a Best Practices Compendium developed by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and released by the Honorable Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan in August 2020. Corporate social responsibility Initiative: Project sankalp—a pledge to fight TB together BD in India has responded to a call by USAID and the MOH urging corporations to support the MOH to achieve the goal of TB elimination by 2025. A district named Rewari, about 70 kilometers from India’s national capital New Delhi, where BD India’s manufacturing plant is located, has been adopted by BD to support the local MOH as it strengthens its systems to achieve TB-free status by 2025. BD has rolled out an ambitious field project that holistically addresses provider and community engagement aspects in collaboration with The Union. Through active case-finding and a dedicated, fully equipped diagnostic van, presumptive TB cases will be identified, and diagnostics will be brought closer to the patients to prevent dropouts and ensure that patients adhere to the entire care pathway to successfully complete treatment and achieve a cure, as per the National TB Elimination Program’s (NTEP’s) diagnostic and treatment algorithms. Field activities are expected to start by Q3 FY 2022 for up to a three-to-five-year period. Strengthening specimen referral system for TB testing With the goal of bolstering the digital health ecosystem and enabling end-to-end specimen tracking, BD has been supporting CTD in the development of an online module within the national TB patient management application called Nikshay. Increased visibility in the specimen movement can support improvement in the turnaround time to delivery of results and completion of diagnostic workup. The initial phase of the application (both web and mobile) has been released across 25,000+ centers and downloaded 100,000+ times on the Google Play store. BD has also launched a usability assessment at 30 sites across five states and is gathering monthly feedback to understand the user experience and improve adoption. TB Talk Unmasked campaign BD and USAID have partnered with an award-winning documentary filmmaker in India to launch TB Talk Unmasked, a platform through which policymakers, TB survivors and treating physicians can share their unique stories and perspectives. At the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Hyderabad, USAID honored BD for its commitment to strengthening the national TB program in India. Corporate TB Pledge In April 2019, U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster launched a new initiative, the Corporate TB Pledge (CTP), designed to help India’s corporate sector in the fight against TB. The initiative has supported the Indian government’s ambitious goal of eliminating TB by 2025, which would be five years ahead of the UN Sustainable Development Goal. It has created a shared platform for corporations committed to ending TB in India. BD was recognized as a platinum partner on this prestigious platform as a result of BD’s unwavering commitment and support to strengthen TB lab systems and capacity building initiatives in India. More details on the CTP can be accessed here . “The BD-USAID partnership STRIDES has marched on with an additional 10 lab assessments at our public-sector liquid culture and drug susceptibility testing laboratories, despite COVID disruptions, by following innovative approaches. We are always eager to understand their perspective in strengthening our lab systems. We look forward to continuing the collaboration with the STRIDES team to achieve the goal of eliminating TB from India by 2025.” Dr. Nishant Central TB Division (CTD), Ministry of Health, India “The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) of India to transform and strengthen its laboratories and diagnostic networks for the past 10 years. The collaboration with BD under STRIDES has demonstrated the important role the private sector, through its resources and expertise, can play in supporting NTEP. We acknowledge the efforts of BD and the leadership of the Central TB Division in their engagement and support for STRIDES.” Dr. Umesh Alavadi Health Office, USAID India