NEW DELHI: Outlining the broad contours of India’s new thrust in the fight against TB, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has said he is determined to take the country substantially down the road to elimination of the disease by 2020.
Delivering the keynote address at the WHO’s Global TB Symposium in Barcelona, Vardhan announced that under the evolving ‘TB-Mission 2020’ he had instructed India’s anti-TB mission officials to work hard to achieve considerable success over the next five years.
In his view, a distant target date would not demand of his team the kind of accountability that would be naturally ensured if the objective is brought forward. Dr Vardhan also said that India is in the process of ensuring free diagnosis and treatment to all TB patients irrespective of the provider--government or private hospital. Steps are under way to ensure that patients are provided with nutrition support and relevant financial enablers.