In a significant push to eradicate tuberculosis from India, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Tuesday called upon Members of Parliament to intensify their efforts for the TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. He emphasized their pivotal role in monitoring progress, raising public awareness, and combating the stigma associated with the disease within their constituencies.
MPs Briefed on Campaign and Progress
The minister's appeal came during a special session with MPs, the first in a planned series, with an initial focus on representatives from Uttar Pradesh. During this meeting, health officials provided a detailed briefing on the campaign's ongoing activities and outlined the specific expectations from the elected representatives.
Nadda presented encouraging data, highlighting that India's TB incidence rate has fallen by 21% from 2015 to 2024, declining from 237 to 187 cases per lakh population. He noted that this decline is nearly double the global average reduction of 12% over the same period. Furthermore, TB mortality in the country has also seen a positive drop, from 28 to 21 per lakh population.
Key Interventions and the Call for a People's Movement
The MPs were updated on the critical technological and medical interventions driving this progress. These include:
- AI-enabled chest X-rays for faster and more accurate screening.
- Wider use of Truenat molecular testing for quick diagnosis.
- Adoption of shorter, more effective treatment regimens.
- Decentralized TB care delivered through the nationwide network of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
Minister Nadda stressed the need for deeper community-level screening and stronger mobilization efforts. He urged the parliamentarians to leverage their influence and connect with the people to transform the TB elimination drive into a true Jan Andolan (people's movement).
The Road Ahead for a TB-Free India
The special session marks a strategic step in involving India's political leadership at the grassroots level in the public health mission. By directly engaging MPs as champions in their constituencies, the government aims to accelerate awareness, ensure better implementation of health schemes, and ultimately reach the goal of a TB-Mukt Bharat. The focus on Uttar Pradesh, a populous state, underscores the targeted approach to fighting the disease in high-burden regions.
The success of this ambitious campaign now hinges significantly on the active participation of elected representatives in bridging the gap between policy and ground-level execution, making TB elimination a shared public priority.
