Panchkula, Dec 7 (IANS): Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda on Saturday launched in Panchkula in Haryana the 100-day intensified campaign spearheaded by the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) across 347 districts.

The campaign aims to find and treat missing TB patients through intensified detection drives, especially in high-risk groups, and reduce TB deaths significantly.

It will deploy advanced screening and diagnostic technologies to reduce delays in diagnosis and the beginning of treatment.

The campaign was launched amidst the presence of the Chief Minister of Haryana Nayab Singh Saini, state Health Minister Arti Singh Rao, besides, officials of the Union and state health ministries, and the National Tuberculosis Division.

Addressing the gathering, Union Health Minister Nadda said the campaign would give new vigour to the TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. He said the campaign would involve accelerated detection, treatment and supportive strategies in the 347 focused districts.

The minister drew attention to the situation prevailing before the year 1960 when TB detection meant a sentence for slow death. “People found having TB used to be kept away from home; food used to be served separately. Many used to be sent even to TB sanitoriums. And today, our resolve is for a TB Mukt Bharat.”

He said in 1962 the National TB Programme was launched and medicines began to be given. “In 1997, we began Directly Observed Treatment (DOT). Later, we launched the Revised National TB Programme.”

He said while the discourse was the fight against TB, the Prime Minister introduced a shift in the year 2018 by making a clarion call to end TB, becoming a bold statement not just for India but for the world.

“The Health Ministry has worked towards this goal with full commitment and we will achieve the goal of ending TB before the year 2030 -- the target year for meeting Sustainable Development Goals,” Nadda added.

The campaign implementation will be tailor-made to address the diverse and specific challenges of each region. The 347 districts across 33 states and UTs have been selected based on indicators such as death rate, presumptive TB examination rate, and incidence rate as compared to the national average.

The objectives of the campaign are to increase disease detection through intensified case-finding drives using advanced screening and diagnostic technologies to reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment initiation.

The campaign will deploy mobile ultraportable, AI-enabled X-ray units and molecular tests to bring advanced diagnostics closer to people, especially in remote areas.

In addition to screening vulnerable people for TB symptoms, the NTEP will be screening all high-risk groups for TB, irrespective of whether they display symptoms or not.

In parallel, to reduce mortality due to TB, the programme will expand access to novel initiatives such as Differentiated TB Care to provide specialised care for high-risk patients and increased nutritional support through Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana.