India Will Eliminate Tuberculosis By 2025: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India would totally eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, a good 5 years ahead of the global deadline set for 2030 and has already started working towards achieving this goal.

“Given the way TB affects people’s lives, health of the society and impacts the country’s economy and future, it is very essential to get rid of TB within the stipulated time,” Mr. Modi said while inaugurating the Delhi End TB Summit organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare jointly with WHO’s South East Asia Region Office and international coalition Stop TB Partnership.

India is also implementing the National Strategic Plan for TB elimination that is backed by a funding of over Rs. 12,000-crore for the next three years to ensure every TB patient in the country has access to quality diagnosis, treatment, and support, he said.

TB is the leading infectious killer in India. There were an estimated 28 lakh new cases of TB in 2016, with over 4 lakh people succumbing to the disease, including those with TB and HIV. The new strategic plan adopts a multi-pronged approach which aims to detect all TB patients with an emphasis on reaching TB patients seeking care from private providers and undiagnosed TB in high-risk populations, treat all patients irrespective of where they seek care adopting a patient centric approach, prevent emergence of TB in susceptible population groups and build empowered institutions and human resources to streamline implementation.

The Prime Minister said that the current Union Budget has proposed to set aside $100-mn to provide nutritional support to TB patients. He hoped that the renewed focus of his government on universal immunisation, clean India campaign and providing LPG connections to poor households will have a positive impact on the country’s fight against TB.

He also urged the Health Ministry to explore the potential of Ayurveda in treating TB and share the results with other countries. He also promised all help – including first line drugs and technical support to all countries that are trying to eliminate TB.