Govt employing multi-sectoral, community led approach to eliminate TB by 2025: Vardhan

The government is building a national movement through a multi-sectoral and community led approach to eliminate Tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global target, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday.

The Centre has also increased allocation of funds for the TB programme by four-folds, he said after releasing the 'India TB Report 2019'.

The Union minister got emotional during his address as he recalled how his brother-in-law died because of multidrug resistance TB (MDR-TB) following prolonged illness.Vardhan was then Delhi's health minister.

"Even though, he was admitted to a top Delhi government hospital, and despite, I being the (Delhi) health minister, we could not save him. So, we have to build a national movement to eliminate the disease," Vardhan said.

In 2018, 21.5 lakh TB cases were notified to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), a 16 per cent increase over 2017 and the highest so far, the report said.

Moreover, notifications from private sector health care providers reached 5.4 lakh, an increase of 40 per cent, contributing to 25 per cent of all TB notifications, it said.

"By employing a multi-sectoral and community led approach, we are building a national movement to eliminate TB by 2025. Accordingly, we have increased allocation towards the TB programme by four-folds and are confident of achieving our target," Vardhan said