The Global Theme for World TB Day 2023, 'Yes! We can end TB!', aims to inspire hope and encourage high-level leadership, increased investments, and faster uptake of new WHO
recommendations, adoption of innovations, accelerated action, and multisectoral collaboration to combat TB.
In India, On World Tuberculosis Day 2023, Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the One World TB Summit at Varanasi.
Addressing the high-profile gathering that included dignitaries and VIPs of national and International stature. The Hon'ble Prime Minister reiterated the commitment and determination with which India dedicated itself to tackling TB and highlighted various initiatives being taken to eliminate TB in India by 2025, 5 years ahead of global SDG targets.
During the one World Summit event, the Hon'ble Prime Minister launched the initiatives:
1. TB-Mukt Panchayat Initiative;
2. Pan-India rollout of a shorter TB Preventive Treatment (TPT)
3. Family-Centric Care model for TB and
4. Release of India’s Annual TB Report 2023.
The Hon'ble Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the National Centre for Disease Control & High Containment Laboratory and inaugurated the site for the Metropolitan Public Health Surveillance Unit, Varanasi.
The Hon'ble Prime Minister highlighted that the One World TB Summit is being hosted in Varanasi, which is his constituency. The Hon'ble PM said 'No matter the obstacle, Kashi has always proved that new ways are created with ‘Sabka Prayas'. He expressed confidence that Kashi will usher new energy towards global resolutions in the fight against a disease like TB.
The Prime Minister highlighted that reflection of India’s ideology can be seen in the spirit of Vasudev Kutumbakam i.e. the whole world is one family, and this ideology is giving an integrated vision and integrated solutions to the advanced world of today. The Hon'ble PM noted that as the G20 President, India chose the theme of ‘One Family, One World, One Future’ based on such beliefs.
The Prime Minister noted that India is forwarding the vision of ‘One Earth, One Health’ in the world and underlined that it is realizing the resolutions of global good with the One World TB Summit.
The Prime Minister complimented India's commitment and determination to tackle TB after 2014 is unprecedented. The Prime Minister said that India’s efforts are important, and this is a new model for the global war on TB. He elaborated on a multi-pronged approach against TB in the last 9 years. He listed people’s participation, enhancing nutrition, treatment innovation, tech integration, and wellness and prevention such as Fit India, Yoga, and Khelo India type of interventions.
Complementing people's participation, the Prime Minister shared how the Ni-kshay Mitra Campaign is combating the major challenge of nutrition for TB patient and is now helping 10 lakh TB patients who have been adopted by citizens, with even young children aged 10 years coming forward. The Hon'ble PM termed the movement ‘inspirational’ and expressed happiness that even Pravasi Indians are participating in this.
The Prime Minister highlighted underlined that the government had announced a Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for TB patients in 2018 and as a result, approximately Rs 2000 crores have been directly transferred into their bank accounts, and more than 75 lakh TB patients have benefitted from this.
“Noting that it is extremely difficult to arrive at new solutions by practicing outdated ways, the Prime Minister said that the government has worked with new strategies so that TB patients do not fall out of their treatment. He gave examples of initiating the Ayushman Bharat Scheme for the screening and treatment of TB, increasing the number of testing labs in the country, and formulating region-specific work policies by targeting cities where the number of TB patients is high.
The Hon'ble Prime Minister launched a new campaign called ‘TB Mukt Panchayat Abhiyan’. He announced that the government is starting a 3 months treatment programme for the prevention of TB instead of a 6-month course and now, in the new system, the patient will have to take medicine only once a week.
The Prime Minister informed about the tech integration in the TB Free India campaign. He said that Ni-kshay Portal. He said that the Health Ministry-ICMR developed a new method for sub-national disease surveillance that has made India, apart from WHO, the only country to have this kind of model.
Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Smt Anadiben Patel, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr MansukhMandaviya, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Brijesh Pathak and Executive Director of Stop TB, Dr Lucica Ditiu were present on the occasion among others.
