President Droupadi Murmu has launched a campaign 'Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan' to eradicate TB by 2025. She said the chances of a welfare scheme succeeding increases manifold when it is made in the interest of people.
An initiative called Ni-kshay Mitra was also launched to ensure additional diagnosis, nutrition, and vocational support to patients undergoing TB treatment. The President encouraged elected representatives, corporates, NGOs, and individuals to come forward as donors to help those who are struggling with the disease.
The Ni-kshay 2.0 portal will facilitate providing support by ensuring community involvement by leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) opportunities.
At the ceremony, the country's accelerated progress through the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) was showcased. President Murmu said she appreciated the "tireless efforts" of healthcare workers, community leaders, and citizens in managing the Covid-19 pandemic. She added that we need to adopt a similar whole-of-society approach to eliminate TB.
She reiterated that TB is a curable disease and treatment is available at government health facilities free of cost. Speaking about universal health coverage, she said the goal is to ensure that no one is left behind in accessing affordable quality healthcare. She also stressed that awareness is key to eradicating TB.
State and district health administrations; representatives from corporates, industries, civil society, NGOs; and TB Champions were attendees at the virtual event. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of State for Health Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar were also present along with union ministers, governors, and state health ministers.
Mandaviya said that the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan is an extension of the Prime Minister's citizen-centric policies and the TB case notifications with consistent efforts are key. "A 360-degree approach is the cornerstone of TB elimination in India."
He added that a societal approach that brings together people from all backgrounds into a Jan Andolan is needed to achieve the ambitious target of eliminating TB by 2025. At the moment, there are about 13.5 lakh TB patients registered in the Nikshat Portal. 8.9 lakh out of them are active patients.