PM’s 100-day TB-elimination campaign starts in 3 J&K districts

Srinagar, Dec 9: Three districts in Jammu and Kashmir have been chosen for Prime Minter’s 100-day Tuberculosis (TB) elimination campaign, with the fast-paced activities starting on Sunday, in sync with the TB elimination activities in 344 other districts in the country.

Srinagar, Baramulla, and Jammu districts have been selected to be part of nationwide accelerated efforts towards TB eradication.

Chairman State TB Task Force J&K, Dr Naveed Nazir Shah said, “A vehicle with equipment for Active Case Finding (ACF) will travel across these districts for the next 100 days.”

He said ACF is possible due to miniature X-ray equipment and CBNAT equipment (for sputum testing). “These vans will go into the communities and carry out active case finding,” he said. “This will help in locating and treating cases that may be missed or arrive late in hospitals.” This is part of the National TB Eradication Programme. Various other awareness activities about TB detection and treatment would also be carried out.

The local representatives, schools, religious leaders, vulnerable groups, and media will be part of the campaign, the highlights being the enforcement of the message that TB testing is necessary for definitive treatment and healthy life. The programme will culminate on March 24, 2025.

According to a study published in the National Journal of Community Medicine, the expenditure incurred by patients with pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme is significant.

In J&K as in the rest of the country, TB patients often face financial insecurity, which affects not only their treatment outcomes but also their overall well-being.

The government has launched initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan to support TB patients and their families.

However, more needs to be done to reduce the financial burden of TB on patients and their families in J&K.

India’s fight against TB has been a long-standing one, with the government launching various initiatives to combat the disease.

The latest effort is the 100-day TB elimination campaign, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 7, which aims to eliminate TB from India by addressing the challenges of tuberculosis notification and mortality.

The campaign will be implemented in 347 districts across 33 states, where the prevalence of the disease is higher.

The focus areas of the campaign include increasing access to advanced diagnostics, targeted screening among vulnerable groups, specialised care for high-risk individuals, and provision of expanded nutritional support.

India has made significant progress in its fight against TB, with the reported rate of decline of TB incidence doubling from 8.3 percent in 2015 to 17.7 percent today, ahead of the global average.

The government has also introduced new strategies like the daily regimen of drugs for sensitive TB, which has improved the treatment success rate to 87 percent.

The 100-day campaign is a crucial step towards achieving the goal of a TB-free India.

With the government’s commitment to providing quality healthcare and the active participation of civil society, India is poised to make significant strides in its fight against TB.

The highlight of the campaign is the focus on increasing access to advanced diagnostics and targeted screening, specialised care for high-risk individuals and expanded nutritional support and deployment of mobile ultraportable, AI-enabled X-ray units and molecular tests.