The focus of this paper is to make known the extensive incidence of TB in India in the early sixties. Various prevailing factors such as a lack of sufficient anti-TB clinics that are properly equipped and adequately staffed, unsatisfactory housing conditions and Government efforts to counter TB, non-availability of sufficient treatment drugs and lack of patients’ access to these drugs, have contributed to the high prevalence of TB. To overcome the huge problem, it is recommended that voluntary bodies and individuals should work, in addition to the Government, to strengthen the campaign against TB. Particularly, TB workers could help in strengthening voluntary TB Associations in the country, so that these Associations can really form the people’s movement against TB and fill the lack that exists at the moment between anti-TB schemes and the individual patient.

Some of the problems in the organisation and development of voluntary TB associations, particularly, in developing countries, such as the problems in building up local and national associations and getting all voluntary work properly co-ordinated with national oganisations and with the IUAT, are discussed briefly.

The first section of this chapter is devoted to a brief description of the historical background of TB associations world-wide. The rest of the chapter is concerned with the genesis and activities of the TAI. TAI’s noteworthy include the annual organisation of conferences of the TB and Chest Diseases Workers in different parts of India, the regular programme of health education activities conducted from its inception, the starting of the IJTB, a quarterly that is globally respected, and the setting up of the Technical Committee to review questions relating to the teaching of TB at various stages of medical education. Above all, the most effective and outstanding contribution by TAI has been the TB Seal Sale Campaign, started in 1950 and conducted during Oct. 2 - Jan. 26, every year. This Campaign has been the single, sweeping, all-India propaganda effort with potentialities to involve the masses in the anti-TB movement and canvass their full participation in implementing the National Control Programme. Every year, the people of India buy over 30 million TB Seals on an average and use them on their mail, though the seals have no postal value. It is suggested that the TAI take up a wide variety of measures including serving as watch-dogs of official programmes, determining the community’s needs concerning TB control, educating the public to promote domiciliary treatment and to reduce drug-default.