Substantial decline in TB cases in India: MoS Health S P Singh Baghel

New Delhi: There has been a substantial decline in tuberculosis cases in India in the last few years, Union Minister of State for Health S P Singh Baghel said on Thursday.

Addressing the attendees after inaugurating the 'Innovative TB Health Technologies Workshop' here, Baghel underscored that innovation is key to the success of the mission to eradicate TB from the country.

Hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the two-day TB workshop aims to encourage researchers to innovate health technologies for the detection of TB such that they can be adopted for the 'End TB' programme.  The workshop will also provide a sharing platform for the TB health technologies that were presented at the 'Stop TB' summit held in Varanasi in March.

During his address, Baghel urged the innovators to produce quality products that can be deployed at scale.

“There is a substantial decline in TB cases and notifications in India in the last few years,” the minister said.

According to the World Health Organisation, TB notification is the number of TB cases (new and relapse) notified to the national health authorities during a specified period of time. Annual case notifications are reported by countries to WHO using a web-based data collection system.

Baghel said TB patients can now avail of treatment with their Ayushman Bharat cards.

Referring to the Varanasi summit, the minister said, “The goal of eliminating TB by 2025 reflected the political will and commitment of the Prime Minister.” He also hailed the “aggressive implementation" of the Central government's 'Swachh Bharat Mission', saying it has led to considerable improvement in water, sanitation and hygiene indicators, thereby reducing TB cases.