New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the successful implementation of Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, an official press release informed Friday.
It said Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, J&K, Bhupinder Kumar, received the bronze medal for significant achievement of more than 20 percent reduction (compared with the baseline of 2015) in the TB incidence in J&K during the ONE WORLD TB SUMMIT (“World TB Day 2023”) held at Rudraksh International Cooperation & Convention Centre, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
On the occasion, Pulwama and Anantang districts of J&K were also honoured with district-level awards for achieving TB-free district status for more than 80 percent reduction in the incidence of TB from the baseline of 2015. These awards were received from the Prime Minister by the respective Deputy Commissioners.
Further, District Srinagar was awarded with gold medal for achieving more than 60 percent reduction in TB incidence while Jammu and Kathua districts were awarded with bronze medal for achieving more than 20 percent reduction in TB incidence.
Pertinently, the Government of India has set the target to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) related to TB Elimination by the year 2025 ahead of the global target of 2030 and has launched the National Strategic Plan 2017-25 under the ambit of the National Health Mission to end TB by 2025.
Earlier, Budgam achieved the distinction of being the first district in the country to be declared TB-free.
During the previous year, three districts namely Kupwara, Anantnag, and Pulwama received gold medals for more than 60 percent reduction in TB incidence whereas District Baramulla and Udhampur bagged bronze medals for achieving more than 20 percent reduction.
Jammu and Kashmir was one of the only two States/UTs which were felicitated during the event. Also, Pulwama and Anantnag were two of the total of three districts in the country to achieve TB-free status this year.
Under the leadership of Bhupinder Kumar, the team of Health & Medical Education Department comprising Ayushi Sudan, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Directors of Health Services, Jammu and Kashmir, has taken proactive measures in proper implementation of National Tuberculosis Programme, the press release said.
The host of measures for reducing TB incidences included door to door awareness campaign “Har Ghar Dastak”, robust screening for TB incidence and Active Case Finding (ACF) and Contact Tracing.
Moreover, Ni-kshayMitra initiative has mobilized community support for filling up gaps and contributing towards Tuberculosis elimination through improved nutritional support and better treatment outcomes. More than, 4300 Ni-KshayMitras in Jammu & Kashmir are providing nutritional support to TB patients.
The event was also attended by Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family welfare, Anandiben Patel, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Health Ministers of various States and UTs, senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, States, UTs and representatives from various countries and inter-governmental organizations.
