New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Thursday called on states to re-strategise their TB campaigns, placing a higher focus on vulnerable and high-risk communities and also stressed the importance of expanding access to rapid diagnostic tools.
The national goal, Nadda said, is to bring the rate of TB cases down to 47 cases per lakh population and the mortality rate to below 3 per lakh population.
He held a high-level meeting with health ministers of eight states and Union territories to review the progress made on TB, elimination of measles and rubella, and the utilisation of funds under PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) and the 15th Finance Commission.
Health ministers of Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jharkhand attended the meeting.
The Union minister complimented the states for their participation in the 100-day intensified TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyan where 12.97 crore people were screened for TB, with over 7.19 lakh TB patients notified across India, including 2.85 lakh patients who were asymptomatic.
Now this campaign has been extended to all districts across the country.
He took cognisance on key metrics like presumptive TB case examination, NAAT coverage, treatment success and uptake of nutrition support schemes for TB patients, and urged state health ministers to review these key metrics on a regular basis, a health ministry statement said.
Under the TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, states are playing a proactive role in screening vulnerable populations for TB, irrespective of whether they present symptoms, using portable chest X-ray machines and patients who are TB-suggestive are tested using NAAT (nucleic acid amplification test), it said.
Nadda urged states and UTs to involve elected representatives from Panchayati Raj Institutions, municipal corporations in the campaign.
In addition, states were encouraged to promote greater uptake of flagship nutritional support initiatives for TB patients and their families, such as the Nikshay Poshan Yojana and the Nikshay Mitra initiative.
The minister noted that the participation and benefits under these schemes remain suboptimal in several regions and must be significantly improved to ensure holistic care and support for those affected.
Nadda commended states on their efforts towards completely eliminating measles and rubella. However, since some districts in many states are still yet to be free of the diseases, he underlined the importance of enhancing immunisation, the statement said.
He highlighted that health infrastructure under PM-ABHIM and 15th Finance Commission needs to be implemented on a war footing to ensure that the funds that have been commissioned are spent efficiently as only a year is left for their utilisation.