Centre launches new TB campaign in 347 districts to reach 25 cr vulnerable people

With just 12 months to go for the Narendra Modi government’s TB elimination deadline, health officials will fan out across the country to identify the vulnerable and high-risk population and put them on treatment.

New Delhi: The Union government on Saturday launched a new intensified TB campaign in 347 districts – including all Karnataka districts - to find out 25 crore vulnerable people and put them on treatment.

Such populations include people who were put on medicine for TB in the past but didn’t complete the treatment, those with diabetes, smokers, malnourished people and children, seniors over 60 years of age and people living with HIV.

With just 12 months to go for the Narendra Modi government’s TB elimination deadline, health officials armed with mobile ultraportable, AI-enabled X-ray units and molecular tests will fan out across the country to identify the vulnerable and high-risk population and put them on treatment.

“There was a time when TB was considered as a ‘slow death’ and even family members suffering from TB were isolated to prevent its spread, but, in 2018 the Prime Minister made the vision to end TB much before the 2030 deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals,” the Union Health Minister J P Nadda said launching the campaign at Panchkula.

Six years ago, the Centre announced achieving TB elimination by 2025 and even made some progress. But as per the latest WHO report India’s TB incidence and mortality goals are way above the milestone goals set up by the Union Health Ministry.

“We have mapped 25 crore vulnerable people such as people treated for TB in the past, those with diabetes, smokers, alcoholics, malnourished, over 60 years of age and people living with HIV. Our target is to screen the vulnerable population in these 347 focus districts,” an official told DH.

In addition to screening people for TB symptoms, all high-risk groups for TB would be examined, irrespective of whether they display symptoms or not. This would be done by taking the latest diagnostic tools almost to the doorsteps, he said.

While the campaign in nearly half of Indian districts spread over 33 states and UTs seeks to increase case detection to reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment initiation, it will parallelly expand existing schemes to provide specialised care for high-risk patients and enhance nutritional support to them.

“The rate of TB decline in India has doubled from 8.3% in 2015 to 17.7% today, much ahead of the global average. Deaths due to TB have also reduced in India by 21.4% in the last 10 years,” Nadda said.

But notwithstanding such successes, India’s TB incidence is over two times higher and death rate three times more than the milestone goals set by the Centre to eliminate TB.

A WHO report, released in October, estimates that India’s TB incidence was 195 per 100,000 population, or 2.5 times higher than the target of 77 per 100,000 population.

Similarly, the TB death rate in 2023 was 22 per 100,000 population, or over three times higher than the milestone goal to lower TB death rates to six per 100,000 population.