Speaking about the nutritional support given to TB patients, a Health Ministry official said that India is one of the few countries to have universal social support systems for TB patients and under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana, ₹3,697 crore have been disbursed to 1.24 crore TB patients since April 2018. File picture for representation.
| Photo Credit: AP
Over 6.1 lakh tuberculosis patients across the country have been notified of which 4.3 lakh patients were diagnosed from the 455 intervention districts as part of Union Health Ministry’s 100-day intensified TB elimination campaign launched on December 7, last year in 33 States and Union Territories to screen and test for TB among people belonging to the vulnerable or high-risk groups.
“The 100-day intensified TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan is an outcome of a new strategy for early TB identification involving offering X-ray screening to high-risk populations, such as individuals with diabetes, smokers, and people living with HIV. By deploying ultraportable hand-held X-ray units and conducting door-to-door screenings in congregate settings, both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals were tested. Positive X-ray results were then confirmed with NAAT (an advanced diagnostic test), leading to the identification of multiple asymptomatic TB patients,” explained a senior Health Ministry official.
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India has the world’s largest TB epidemic and continues to be a major public health problem. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the country’s TB incidence has declined by 17.7% from 2015 to 2023. This is more than double the global average decline of 8.3%. India’s TB mortality rate has also declined by 18% during the same period.
TB is a communicable disease that is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. It is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the active respiratory disease.
Speaking about the nutritional support given to TB patients, the official said that India is one of the few countries to have universal social support systems for TB patients and under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana, ₹3,697 crore have been disbursed to 1.24 crore TB patients since April 2018.
The programme is a monthly nutrition support scheme each notified TB patient is entitled to. In October 2024, recognising the role nutrition plays in reducing mortality and improving treatment outcomes, the Government of India doubled monthly disbursements under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana from ₹500 to ₹1,000 per month. The ambit of the Ni-kshay Mitra scheme (a voluntary programme that allows individuals and organisations to provide additional nutrition support during TB treatment) was expanded to cover not just TB patients, but their family members as well.
Published – March 10, 2025 10:38 pm IST