BENGALURU: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya called on people to adopt tuberculosis patients as donors through ‘Community Support to TB Patients’ programme and become ‘Nikshay Mitra’ taken up as part of Pradhan Mantri TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan launched last Friday. The target is to alleviate tuberculosis from India by 2025.
Interacting with mediapersons from across the country via video conference, he said that corporates, NGOs, public and elected representatives can adopt individual TB patients or a group of TB patients via Nikshay 2.0 website (community support.nikshay.in) and sponsor their treatment or nutrition, a nutrition basket or offer a job to their family members. They can adopt them for six months, one year, two or three years. Among 13.51 lakh TB patients in the country, 9.42 lakh TB patients have given their consent for adoption, he said.
He also announced Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav, a national voluntary blood donation drive which would be taken on Saturday, and called on people to register as donors with the registry through eraktkosh.in or cowin.gov.in portal. They can donate blood whenever there is a requirement. “This is to make blood available, accessible and safe. Every two seconds, someone needs blood, one unit can save three people. During the Covid-19 pandemic, people needed 1.46 crore units, but availability was just 1.25 crore units. Hence, this mega blood donation drive has been taken up. More than 5,000 camps will be held across the nation,” Mandaviya said.
Mandaviya said that medical students who have come to India from Ukraine would be given permission for internship, followed by a foreign entrance exam. He clarified that an expert group has not yet given permission for Covid vaccination for those below 6 years of age.