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New Delhi : Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated “World Tuberculosis Day” programme along with Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare, at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, here on March 24, 2021.
Dr Vinod Paul, Member Health, NITI Ayog, Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Prof. Balram Bhargava, Secretary DHR & DG ICMR, Dr Roderico H Offrin, WHO representative to India, and other senior dignitaries were also present at the occasion.
Addressing the event, Dr Vardhan said, “India has 30% of the world’s TB cases. Under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have accorded the highest priority to end tuberculosis by 2025. We have also ensured that the commitments are supported with commensurate resources. Budget allocation for TB in India has witnessed a fourfold increase in the last 5 years. High-quality drugs, digital technology, engaging the private sector and communities, integrating TB services across all levels within the health system, are all aligned to rapidly decline TB incidence and mortality in the country.”
Awards were also given to best performing States/UTs based on their State TBI Index. Lakshadweep (UT) and the district of Budgam (J&K) were declared TB free. Distributing the medals and certificates to awardees, Dr ardhan noted, “This is a historic day for India as one UT and one district have been declared TB-free. This is just an initial step in the direction of a bigger dream of elimination of TB from India. I am confident that next year we shall have more States, UTs and Districts stepping up to the challenge and laying such claims. The last few years have seen the country take definitive steps towards the elimination of tuberculosis from the country. The sustained efforts of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme have led to an unprecedented increase in TB notifications and significant improvements in timely diagnosis, adherence, and treatment outcomes. Over the past few years, we have significantly ramped up India’s diagnostic capacity for TB and we now have at least one rapid molecular diagnostic facility available in each district and we are aiming to decentralise it down to the block level.”
Dr Vardhan said, “The year 2020 has seen some setbacks in the direction of treating Tuberculosis but despite the challenges posed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s TB programme saw over 18.04 lakh TB notifications. When India decides, India does. Indigenously developed cost-effective, point-of-care molecular diagnostic machines (called TrueNAT) were deployed to test for both COVID-19 and TB across the country. Many State/UTs also leveraged the house-to-house COVID-19 screening campaigns and integrated TB as well in the COVID surveillance strategies.”
Choubey said, “ India has made significant efforts in the direction of eliminating TB under the dynamic and able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I appreciate TB champions who have won their battle against Tuberculosis and are now trying to change society with their efforts. I appeal to all the leaders to make it a Jan Andolan. Today, India is performing better than most countries in terms of COVID19 parameters. This is indeed a result of the successful leadership of our Prime Minister. ”
Dr Roderico H. Offrin, WHO representative to India, said, “The theme of World TB Day this year is ‘The clock is ticking. We must use setback during last year due to COVID19 to step up our efforts to end TB. India has launched a Jan Andolan to end TB and this commitment has been backed by budgetary allocation, infrastructure and resources. The efforts have almost doubled. TB initiatives at the central level have been percolated down to States, Districts, Blocks and Gram Panchayat levels.”