The Punjab Government on Thursday announced to provide free nutritional supplements to the TB patients. The move is aimed at totally eliminating the TB menace from the state by 2025.
“TB menace would be totally eliminated from the State by 2025 and to achieve this goal, Punjab Government has, in principal, decided to provide nutritional supplements to the patients of Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) TB, free of cost from the State funds,” said State Health and Family Welfare Minister Brahm Mohindra.
The Minister, while delivering his keynote address after inaugurating the national review meeting of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), added that Punjab has also been providing free diagnostic and treatment services to the entire population.
Mohindra stated that State has taken several initiatives to strengthen RNTCP and Government is fully committed to achieve the goal of total TB elimination by 2025.
Speaking on the challenge of multi drug resistance (MDR) TB, Mohindra said that poor nutrition is one of the factors effecting success of treatment of MDR TB which is less than 50 percent in India.
He said that MDR/XDR patients will be issued blue cards to enable them to get subsidized ration under Atta-Dal scheme of Punjab Government.
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Central TB Division (CTD) Deputy Director Dr Sunil Khaparde emphasized the need to detect and put on treatment the missing cases, which usually remain hidden among vulnerable populations due to lack of awareness of access to health services.
The state Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Anjali Bhawra said that by addressing the challenge of case notification and detection of new cases, which are usually missed, and putting them on standard treatment, the state will surely achieve the goal of elimination of TB.
National health Mission managing director Varun Roojam said that to identify all cases of TB, involvement of private sector is critical while urging the private practitioners to notify all cases of TB diagnosed by them.
Mohindra also flagged off an audio-visual van, scheduled to travel to all 22 districts of Punjab in period of one month going to all district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and selected community and primary health centres creating awareness about TB and screening for suspected TB patients.