Operation ASHA

Operation ASHA is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Dr. Shelly Batra and Sandeep Ahuja to bring tuberculosis treatment at economically feasible rates to disadvantaged communities in India and Cambodia. The organization detects and treats tuberculosis, including multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, connecting government medicine distribution with underserved communities through community health workers who provide what the organization calls last-mile connectivity, operating treatment clinics in accessible locations such as shops and temples to reduce stigma. As of 2016, Operation ASHA had treated over 75,000 TB patients across more than 15 million people served, employing more than 250 field workers and 4,000 village workers, maintaining a default rate of 1.5 percent, significantly below typical rates, and treating patients for approximately 80 dollars per person compared to about 300 dollars at other organizations, in part through eCompliance, a biometric monitoring system developed with Microsoft Research.