New Delhi, December 3 (IANS). The Central Government has issued a statement saying that about 21.69 lakh Tuberculosis (TB) cases have been reported between January and October this year.
TB cases have always been a concern in India, but there has been an improvement in recent years.
“TB cases to rise from 18.05 lakh in 2020 to 25.52 lakh in 2023,” Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
“About 21.69 lakh TB cases have been recorded between January and October 2024,” he said.
Patel said the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM) has made significant efforts to make India TB free.
India aims to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030.
A major decline has also been observed in the incidence rates of deadly infectious diseases and deaths due to them.
“The TB incidence rate in India is projected to decline by 17.7 per cent from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 195 per 100,000 population in 2023,” Patel said. Deaths due to TB have reduced by 21.4 percent from 28 per 1 lakh population in 2015 to 22 per 1 lakh population in 2023.
Patel further said that the major efforts and interventions undertaken under NTEP include targeted interventions in high TB burden areas through state and district specific strategic plans, provision of free drugs and diagnostics to TB patients, campaigns in key vulnerable populations. Through detection of active TB cases.
The Minister of State said that the program has integrated Ayushman Arogya Mandir with TB testing and treatment services, promoted private sector participation with incentives for notification and management of TB cases, molecular diagnostics laboratories up to sub district level. and expanded the coverage under Nikshay Poshan Yojana for nutritional support to TB patients.
–IANS
MKS/CBT
