According to the PM, India is trying to eradicate TB by 2025

In a series of steps to eradicate the bacterial illness, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that India is aiming to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, five years before the worldwide deadline of 2030.

On World TB Day, the Prime Minister spoke at the "One Global TB Summit" in Varanasi, his home constituency, and praised India's "amazing" efforts to combat tuberculosis since 2014.

The whole world has to be aware of India's initiative since it represents a new strategy in the battle against tuberculosis, he added. "In nine years, India has come together in the battle against TB on many fronts, including public involvement, specialized nutrition campaigns, novel treatment tactics, extensive use of technology, and encouraging good health via initiatives like Khelo India and Yoga," the statement reads.

As opposed to the worldwide aim of 2030, he said, "Another key resolve of India is to eradicate TB by 2025."

All World Health Organization (WHO) member nations accepted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's End TB Strategy in 2014 and 2015, setting 2030 as the target year for eradicating tuberculosis worldwide.

When persons with tuberculosis release germs into the air, such as via coughing, the disease may spread.

The prime minister emphasized the significant use of trace, test, track, treat, and technology in the battle against the illness in reference to the capacity and health infrastructure improvement during the Covid-19 epidemic. "This local method of India has enormous global potential," he said.

As he unveiled a number of initiatives to eradicate TB, including TB-free panchayats, a pan-India rollout of a shorter TB Preventive Treatment (TPT), and a family-centric care model for tuberculosis, Modi claimed that India's philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam" (the world is one family) is providing the modern world with an integrated vision and solutions.

"India's idea of "Vasudev Kutumbkam" reflects the country's reputation. This antiquated idea is supplying the contemporary world with an integrated view and solutions, he said.

As G20 president, Modi said that India selected the subject of "One Family, One Planet, One Future" in light of such ideals.

The PM also presented India's Annual TB Report for 2023 during the event. He also disclosed the location of the Metropolitan Public Health Surveillance Unit and the National Center for Disease Control's High Containment (BSL) Laboratory in Varanasi (MSU).

According to the WHO's 2022 Global TB Report, 10.6 million individuals worldwide had TB diagnoses in 2021, a 4.5% rise over 2020, and 1.6 million people passed away from the bacterial illness. According to the data, which was published in October of last year, India, with 28% cases, was one of the eight nations that accounted for more than two-thirds (or 68.3%) of all TB patients worldwide.

The Prime Minister said, "I would prefer that more and more nations have the benefit of all such initiatives, inventions, and sophisticated technology of India," noting that 80% of TB medications are produced in India.

He said that the nation began a novel effort to combat the illness. "We had urged the populace to join the "Ni-kshay Mitra" campaign to rid India of tuberculosis. After the initiative, 10,000 (one thousand thousand) TB patients have been adopted by regular people. Even 10- to 12-year-old youngsters in our nation are advancing the battle against TB by becoming Ni-kshay Mitras, according to Modi. There are many such kids who adopted TB patients despite emptying their piggy banks. For TB sufferers, these Ni-kshay friends have provided financial assistance totaling more than $1 billion.

The Minister said that Indians who reside overseas are now also contributing to this endeavor.

According to him, since 2018, around 2,000 crore has been directly sent to the bank accounts of TB sufferers, benefiting roughly 7.5 million of them.

"It is challenging to get fresh findings with the same methodology. began developing a fresh plan to guarantee that no TB patient be denied care, he added. The number of laboratories for testing TB patients has expanded, and specific preparations are established for locations where there are a higher number of TB patients.