NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ said people are coming forward and are adopting one TB patient or the other under the ‘Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ and hoped that the “power of public participation” will free India from TB by 2025.
He also mentioned the United Nation (UN) recognition of India’s Hypertension Control Initiative, a large-scale hypertension intervention in the country, which covers 3.4 hypertensive people. Modi said “people are coming forward and are adopting one TB patient or the other, taking the lead in ensuring a nutritious diet.”
“Actually, it is a part of the TB Free India campaign, whose basis is public participation; a sense of duty. It is possible to cure TB with the right nutrition, with the right medicines at the right time. I believe that with this power of public participation, India will definitely be free from TB by the year 2025,” he added.
The UN has set 2030 as target for TB elimination but India has announced to end the disease from the country by 2025. According to union health ministry data, over 9.5 lakh tuberculosis patients have been adopted under the ‘Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’, envisioned to bring together all community stakeholders to support those on TB treatment and which was launched by President Droupadi Murmu in September. 9.
Highlighting that there is no other dharma like doing good to others, serving others, and doing charity, Modi cited the example of medical students from Dadra-Nagar Haveli and Daman-Diu who have adopted 50 villages under the initiative.
“These medical students make the people of the village aware to avoid illness, also help in the recuperation, and also impart information about the schemes of the government. This spirit of philanthropy has brought new joy in the lives of the people living in the villages. I congratulate all the students of the medical college for this endeavor,” he added.
Under the Abhiyan, ‘adopt a TB patient’ plan has been included.
Over 19.3 lakh new and relapsed TB patients were notified in 2021 against 16.3 lakh in 2020, according to the TB report 2022. Deaths from TB increased to 4.9 lakh, excluding HIV patients, in 2020, up 13 percent from a year ago. The mortality rate due to all forms of TB between 2019 and 2020 rose by 11 per cent.