Govt committed to eradicate Tuberculosis in India by 2025, says Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday reaffirmed the political commitment of the government to end Tuberculosis and said that they have accorded high priority to eradicating the disease in the country by 2025.

"Under the guidance of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have accorded high priority to eradicating Tuberculosis in India by 2025, five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target of 2030," the Health Minister said while addressing the India TB Summit through video-conference.

The summit was orgsed to highlight the global and national prevalence of Tuberculosis ahead of World TB Day.

He also said that the central government is committed to scale-up access to free diagnosis through rapid molecular tests, also providing information on drug resistance, free treatment for all people with TB, with best-quality drugs and regimens, financial and nutritional support to patients, use of digital technologies for notification and adherence and linking with interface non-governmental agencies to strengthen private sector engagement.

"The movement would make the country step forward as a leader for a TB-free world," he added.

Detailing about the National TB Elimination Program's ambitious National Strategic Plan (NSP) to achieve the said target by 2025, the health minister said: "The NSP embraces bold strategies with commensurate resources to rapidly decline TB incidence and mortality. NTEP has instituted many innovations such as contracting of Patient-Provider Support Agencies (PPSAs) to enhance engagement with the private sector, strengthening community engagement through TB Forums at the national, state and district levels, and integrating TB services across all levels in the health system, including the Ayushman Bharat - Health & Wellness Centres, thereby, making TB an essential part of comprehensive primary health care."

The Union Minister has also called upon every citizen to fight collectively and think TB not only a biomedical disease but also a social disease.

"Considering the extensive TB burden and the gamut of challenges, we must agree that much more needs to be done with support from all stakeholders. To address Tuberculosis, the first step is that we need to stop thinking of biomedical solutions only as TB is a social disease. TB control needs to be taken up by all of us as a developmental issue. We have called upon a 'Jan Andolan' against TB to reinforce our commitment to end TB through multi-sectoral and integrated actions," he noted.

( With inputs from ANI )