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The Government has implemented the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM). With the goal of achieving Sustainable Development Goals related to TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global targets, the programme has implemented a National Strategic Plan with the following objectives: –
- Early diagnosis of TB patients, prompt treatment with quality assured drugs and treatment regimens.
- To engage with the patients seeking care in the private sector.
- Prevention strategies include active case finding and contact tracing in high-risk/vulnerable populations.
- Airborne infection control.
- Multi-sectoral response for addressing social determinants.
The Government has made steady progress toward achieving the SDG targets. As per the Global TB Report, 2021 by the World Health Organisation, the incidence of Tuberculosis in India has reduced from 217 / lakh population in 2015 to 188 / lakh population in 2020.
The other steps were taken by the Government to ensure TB patients are diagnosed and complete treatment, are as under:
- State and District Specific Strategic plan for targeted interventions in high burden areas.
- Provision of free drugs and diagnostics to TB patients including for drug-resistant TB.
- Active TB case finding campaign in key vulnerable and co-morbid populations.
- Integration with Ayushman Bharat- Health & Wellness Centres to decentralize screening and treatment services closer to the community.
- Private sector engagement includes incentives for notification and management of TB cases.
- Scale up of molecular diagnostic laboratories to sub-district levels.
- Nikshay Poshan Yojana for nutritional support to TB patients.
- Intensified IEC campaigns to reduce stigma, raise community awareness and improve health seeking behaviour.
- Multi-sectoral response with involvement of line ministries.
- Scale up TB preventive therapy to contacts of pulmonary TB.
- Notified TB cases are tracked through the web-based portal Ni-kshay.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
