Assam Governor adopts 10 TB patients for 6 months

To push the TB Mukt Bharat campaign, Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi has adopted 10 tuberculosis patients for six months and pledged to support them with nutritious food, which is a must during DOTS treatment to cure TB.

Mukhi on Monday adopted the patients and handed over food items at the Raj Bhawan in Guwahati as part of Nikshay Mitra, a community support initiative for TB patients under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.

“Every citizen of our country has a responsibility to make the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat campaign a mass movement. I thus make a plea to everybody to help this campaign become a success,” Mukhi said during the programme.

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To eradicate the disease, the mission is working to create a health system that is focused on TB patients in the nation.

Health department officials said nutritious food and regular medicines as prescribed by doctors for six months (under the DOTS treatment) can completely cure TB. But many patients give up the treatment in the middle and also do not follow a nutritious diet due to poverty and a lack of awareness. The health department is now trying to get community assistance for TB patients, particularly in rural areas. Tea gardens and hilly areas are the main focus for the eradication of TB in Assam, officials said.

The Governor urged the health officials to go for door-to-door awareness, educate TB patients about practicing a healthy way of life. He emphasised that the officials must reach out to the people and disseminate information about Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, said a statement issued by Raj Bhawan on Monday.