Insight on J&J’s TB mass awareness campaign in India

Johnson & Johnson Services has recently taken a TB awareness initiative in India, collaboration with MTV Staying Alive Foundation. The objective is to raise awareness about TB as part of the Company’s 10-year initiative to fight TB and to support Government of India’s goal of ending TB by 2025. One of the seminal components of the MTV Nishedh campaign – a 7-week, 13-part TV drama series, will air on January 25, 2020 at 8 pm on MTV India – was officially announced recently in Mumbai.

Among other storylines, the drama follows the struggles and triumphs of two characters with TB to help inform young people about the signs and symptoms of the disease, encourage those who might be affected to seek care and debunk common myths to help reduce the social stigma often faced by patients. By engaging young people – which comprise two-thirds of the population in India – MTV Nishedh is setting out to address this. The campaign builds on the success of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation’s multi-award-winning campaign with proven impact, MTV Shuga, which has helped to generate positive behavior change around HIV and sexual and reproductive health across Africa.

In addition to the TV drama, the J&J-supported campaign also includes a 15-part MTV Nishedh Live radio program, which has been airing on RED FM since October, as well as compelling and informative online content.