Nadda calls for turning TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan into people's movement with help of youth

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday called for harnessing the power of India's youth to turn the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan into a nationwide people's movement. Chairing a high-level inter-ministerial meeting with Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports and Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, he urged greater participation of volunteers, educational institutions, workplaces and defence personnel in the country's tuberculosis elimination drive. Nadda stressed that eliminating tuberculosis requires a "whole-of-government and whole-of-society" approach. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks during a PRAGATI review meeting, Nadda said the active participation of young people and institutions would be critical in accelerating awareness, early detection, treatment adherence and patient support. "The power of India's youth must be leveraged to make the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan a nationwide people's movement," Nadda said, according to an official statement. He asked the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to expand the engagement of MY Bharat volunteers and National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets in the campaign by strengthening the existing TB Mukt Bharat Toli model, mobilising volunteers for screening camps and intensifying awareness programmes in schools, colleges and communities. The health minister also sought greater involvement of the Ministry of Defence in community awareness campaigns, household contact education, nutrition support drives for TB patients and integration of TB awareness activities into NCC training camps, Republic Day and Independence Day events, adventure camps and rural outreach programmes. Mandaviya proposed greater institutional convergence by involving medical colleges more extensively in the campaign, noting that the country has nearly six lakh undergraduate and around two lakh postgraduate medical students who could contribute to TB elimination efforts. He also suggested engaging officers under the Pratibha Setu programme in District TB Coordination Committees to improve planning, implementation and monitoring at the district level. He called for bringing the Ministry of Education on board to widen participation through educational institutions. According to the government, more than 28 crore vulnerable individuals have been screened under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan since its launch in December 2024. The screening has resulted in the notification of over 39 lakh TB patients, including 12.93 lakh asymptomatic patients identified through active case finding using chest X-rays, enabling earlier diagnosis and treatment. The government said over 5.7 lakh Ni-kshay Mitras have registered under the initiative and distributed 38.9 lakh nutrition baskets to TB patients, while more than 20 lakh patients have received individualised support under the programme's differentiated care approach. The meeting also discussed expanding workplace-based TB interventions by integrating screening into occupational health practices, particularly in high-risk sectors such as mining, construction, textiles and transport, and among migrant workers. It was decided to mobilise employers, trade unions and labour welfare institutions, including the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and the Directorate General Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), to facilitate workplace screening, support treatment adherence and improve patient care, the statement said. PTI PLB KSS KSS