UP health dept gears up for TB-free India

The State TB Forum held a meeting here on Saturday to make the TB-Free India campaign more effective in Uttar Pradesh.

The meeting was chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Uttar Pradesh, Amit Kumar Ghosh.

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During the meeting, a detailed review of the progress of the TB-Free India campaign was conducted. The Additional Chief Secretary stated that coordinated efforts with all departments are essential to make the state TB-free. He emphasised that TB elimination is not the responsibility of the Health Department alone, but requires multi-departmental participation and collective efforts.

He directed that timely testing of all suspected TB patients must be ensured and that identified patients should be provided with complete and quality medical facilities without any delay.

Keeping in mind the prevention of TB infection, instructions were issued to make regular TB screening mandatory for employees working in the hotel and hospitality sector in all cities. It was also agreed to ensure regular TB screening of students studying in all government and private medical colleges in the state. Directions were also given to conduct mandatory TB screening of kitchen staff working in district hospitals and medical colleges, so that any possibility of infection can be prevented in time.

The Additional Chief Secretary also directed that meetings of the State TB Forum and District TB Forums should be held regularly every month, and that the action-taken reports of the District TB Forums must be mandatorily uploaded each month on the concerned portal. He laid special emphasis on continuous monitoring of compliance with decisions taken in previous meetings.

It was also agreed in the meeting to further strengthen the participation of TB Champions, enabling them to raise awareness through their experiences and dispel social misconceptions related to TB. Special emphasis was also laid on the effective use of social media platforms for wider publicity of TB elimination programmes.

The Additional Chief Secretary, Amit Kumar Ghosh, stated that the Government of Uttar Pradesh is fully committed to achieving the goal of a TB-Free India, and with the cooperation of all concerned departments, institutions, and development partners, the state will be made TB-free at the earliest.

The meeting was attended by the Special Secretary, Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department, Shri Dhirendra Sachan; Director General of Medical and Health Services, Dr. Ratan Pal Singh Suman; State TB Officer, Dr. Shailendra Bhatnagar; Deputy State TB Officer, Dr. Rishi Saxena; and state representatives of WHO, IHAT, GHS, and CFAR.