Harsh Vardhan asks ministry to increase efforts for TB elimination

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Tuesday directed the ministry officials to take up the elimination of TB on a 'Mission Mode', asking all stakeholders to come together and chalk out an aggressive strategy for making India tuberculosis free by 2025. Harsh Vardhan was chairing a high-level meeting to review the status of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP).

"The Prime Minister has given a clarion call to made India free of Tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global target. Let us develop a comprehensive and focussed high profile strategic action plan by bringing together synergies of all systems and available resources across the government and non-government sectors," he said at the meeting.

The Minister suggested the adoption of innovative approaches to address TB and directed the elimination of the disease be made a 'Jan Andolan' (mass movement).

The Health Minister also suggested roping in other ministries, state governments, MPs, MLAs, NGOs, civil society organisations and the media for sustained efforts in combating TB. He asked the officials to take up new interventions and mount aggressive awareness campaigns so that the whole country is in sync with the "TB Harega Desh Jitega" (TB will lose, the country will win) slogan.

India accounted for 27 per cent of the 10 million people who contracted tuberculosis in 2017, the highest among the top 30 high TB burden countries in the world, according to a report by the World Health Organisation released in September 2018.