Now Centre plans to draft in religious leaders and community influencers for TB elimination

New Delhi: The health ministry has asked all other ministries and departments to rope in religious leaders and community influencers to sensitize people during upcoming religious festivals about the need to eliminate tuberculosis this year itself.

In a communication reviewed by Mint, the ministry refers to its plan to focus on 38 tribal districts, 27 mining districts and 46 aspirational districts of a total 347 districts being covered across states in the war against TB.

The work involves identifying 200,000 additional TB cases and achieving 90% screening of vulnerable populations as part of the Centre’ ongoing nationwide100-day TB elimination programme which was launched on 7 December last year.

Also read | Healthcare faces significant challenges in infrastructure

“Since the onset of the 100-day campaign, more than 54.5 millioh vulnerable population have been screened and around 284,752 new TB patients have been diagnosed till 23 January,” health minister J.P. Nadda said, adding that the “missing TB cases” had come down significantly from 1.5 million in 2015 to 150,000 in 2024.

Missing TB cases are people who are infected with tuberculosis but not in treatment.

“We have moved from ‘high burden’ to ‘high impact’ country. Around 156,000 Nikshay Mitra volunteers are supporting over 940,000 TB patients under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan,” he said.

The ongoing campaign aims to increase detection, reduce TB deaths and prevent new cases. Mass screenings, community mobilization, and treatment follow-ups are being done currently which will conclude on 24 March.

Also read | Healthcare for all: India could lead by shaping the future of AI and biotech

“The plan was initiated to detect 200,000 additional TB cases. However, in the ongoing campaign, more than 280,000 new TB patients were diagnosed. The total number of additional cases will be known after the conclusion of the campaign when the number of cases identified is compared with the previous period,” an official said.

From 28 February to 7 March, community influencers and religious leaders during Ramadan festival would be roped in, the government’s National TB Elimination Progarmme (NTEP) document stated.

Also read | Aster’s Alisha Moopen on why global investors are flocking to India’s healthcare

“The plan also targets achieving 90% screening coverage of vulnerable populations using X-rays with AI (artificial intelligence) and NAAT. Ensure 100% linkage of TB patients to nutritional support and prepare 50,000 panchayats for TB-free certification by the end of the campaign,” said an official.

NAAT, or nucleic acid amplification test, is a diagnostic test that can help identify TB cases and determine drug resistance. NAATs are more accurate and faster than other tests.

TB incidence has decreased from 237 per 100,000 population till 2015 to 195 in 2023. Similarly, the death rate has decreased from 28 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 22 in 2023.

However, challenges such as stigma, diagnostic gaps and undernutrition remain.

Also read | Budget 2025: Insurers seek support for tax breaks, wider health cover, more FDI

The 100-Day campaign is a part of the broader framework of the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP-2020) under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM), which is aligned with the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB Elimination 2017–2025.

Queries sent to the health ministry and Central TB division remained unanswered.