Andhra Pradesh recognised as second best performing state in tackling Tuberculosis

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and MoS (Health) Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Wednesday released the Annual Tuberculosis Report and Newsletter via video conference. As part of the Revised National TB Control Programme, the Ministry has been fostering a competitive spirit among all states and Union Territories in order to eliminate TB from the country by 2025. The Annual Tuberculosis Report revealed that Andhra Pradesh stood second in the entire country for Best Performing State under RNTBP (Revised National TB Control Programme) in ‘Population over 50 lakhs’ category. Minister of Health Dr Harsha Vardhan gave out the award via live video conference and congratulated Andhra Pradesh for its achievement. The Minister also said that despite COVID-19 disrupting many activities in the country, the Ministry’s efforts as part of the RNTBP programme continued.

The Ministry of Health officials revealed that the awards were given based on various factors including TB Case notifications, Efficient Treatment of Patients, HIV Testing Numbers for TB patients, providing Nutrition for the patients under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana scheme and financial expenditures among other important factors.

In the Population over 50 Lakhs category, Gujarat stood first, while Himachal Pradesh stood third. The two states were among the best performers in 2019 as well. Tripura and Nagaland stood first and second in the ‘Population under 50 Lakhs’ category.

In 2018, the Ministry of Health launched the ‘TB Haarega, Desh Jeetega’ campaign to aggressively work on eliminating the pulmonary disease from India. Back then, Andhra Pradesh contributed to 5% to the country’s total Tuberculosis cases.

Speaking at the Felicitation Ceremony, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Aswini Kumar Choubey spoke about the Ministry’s plans towards eliminating TB completely from India. It was revealed that the Ministry will adopt a comprehensive National Strategic Plan that involves Advocacy and Communication, Health and Wellness Centres for TB, Inter-Ministerial Collaboration for Addressing Social Determinants of TB, Private and Corporate Health Sector Engagement in the central government’s ongoing efforts.