Nav Jivan Mission Hospital, Palamu District, Jharkand:

The Nav Jivan (“New Life”) Mission Hospital (NJMH) was founded in 1961 and over the last four decades, has developed a reputation for being a centre of professional excellence.  Over the last 4 years with the support of TB Alert, NJMH has developed a model TB programme incorporating diagnosis, treatment and follow-up services as well as awareness raising.  Aside from NJMH, healthcare facilities are extremely limited and consist mainly of private practitioners who are expensive and varying in skills and expertise. Due to excellent outreach awareness programmes, the number of patients coming to NJMH with suspected TB has more than trebled since 2001. 

The area where the hospital is located is rural, but with quite a high density of villages.  People are generally subsistence farmers growing rice and other crops.  The climate is temperate, although it can be very hot and dry in the summer.  Most villages do not have access to clean water, taking their drinking water from open wells.  Apart from TB, the other main health problems in the area are Malaria and diarrhoeal diseases in children.  There is a high level of malnutrition, mainly due to lack of knowledge and understanding about the need for a variety of vitamins and minerals in the diet.

Where is Jharkhand?

Nav Jivan hospital has a particular focus on TB in children.  Click here to read Raheena's story

Click here to find out how Mr Amit Minz, TB officer at Nav Jivan Mission Hospital, spends his day

Click here to read about awareness raising activities at Nav Jivan

Click here to see the progress of the new TB Outpatients centre at Nav Jivan