Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda sensitized the Members of Parliament from across party lines on the TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, at the Extended Parliament House Annexe (EPHA) Auditorium, today.
He was joined by Shri B L Verma, MoS, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Shri Pankaj Chaudhury, MoS, Ministry of Finance; Shri Kamlesh Paswan, MoS, Ministry of Rural Development; Shri Jitin Prasada, MoS, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Electronics and Information Technology and Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, MoS, Ministry of External Affairs, Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
Today marked the first of a series of interactions with Parliamentarians, with a special focus on MPs from Uttar Pradesh. MPs from the state attended the event and pledged their commitment to advancing the campaign and driving community mobilization efforts within their constituencies.
The MPs were informed about the campaign objectives, key activities being undertaken, and their role in supporting the campaign. Addressing the gathering, Shri Nadda underscored the important leadership roles of the MPs in achieving the goal of TB elimination.
He urged the MPs to monitor the campaign in their respective constituencies, raise awareness and reduce stigma around the disease, and mobilize the community to actively participate in the campaign. The Union Minister highlighted that India’s TB incidence (new cases emerging each year) reduced by 21% – from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh population in 2024 – over almost double the pace of the decline observed globally at 12 %, as per the World Health Organization’s Global TB Report 2025.
“Similarly, India’s TB mortality rate has decreased from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh population in 2024, reflecting significant progress in reducing deaths due to TB”, he added. The MPs were informed about several novel interventions that have been rolled out in the last ten years, including swift uptake of new technologies like AI-enabled hand-held chest x-ray machines and Truenat machines, adoption of more effective shorter treatment regimen, decentralization of TB care through the network of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, community engagement, etc.
Shri Nadda noted the importance of further penetration of TB screening services and awareness generation at the ground level for the success of the TB elimination efforts and encouraged the MPs to support these efforts in order to make it a Jan Andolan.
Union Health Secretary, Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava underscored the importance of the campaign for reducing the TB burden in the country. The Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, provided an overview of the TB Elimination campaign of the Union Health Ministry.