Jharkhand will now begin providing daily treatment to those affected by TB as Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi administered drugs to three patients to kick off this new, improved regimen here on Tuesday. The launch was organised by the State TB Cell, Jharkhand, in partnership with REACH and with support from United States Agency for International Development.
“The State today took a big step towards our common goal of eliminating TB by 2025. Now, drugs will be given daily as against the earlier alternate day regimen. This is a great initiative by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme and the State government, to make this treatment easier for all patients. The treatment is now simplified and we hope that this will be very successful,” said Chandravanshi.
Speaking on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, SudhirTripathy, said, “This is an important day for us because we are transitioning from one regimen to a better, more efficient one. TB is the biggest public health crisis that affects people in their most productive years. It would have been easier to digest the deaths caused due to TB if there was no treatment available, but it is curable and treatment is free. Even then, to see these numbers, shows our weakness. That is why this is a good opportunity, to launch such innovative ways to address this problem.”
The event also saw the release of communications materials featuring Arjuna awardee Olympic archer Deepika Kumari. TB Ambassador Deepika Kumari lent her voice to the campaign through a series of video and audio messages as well as posters developed by REACH’s TB Call to Action project, with support from USAID.