NEW DELHI: Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister of Health, said on Saturday, March 25, that India is prepared to take the initiative and represent the Global South in the global effort to eradicate tuberculosis (TB). He also emphasised the importance of creating TB vaccinations, claiming that this was an urgent requirement.
"We have witnessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's steadfast dedication to eliminating TB in India. We are prepared to take the initiative and speak for the Global South in the coordinated effort to combat TB "At a speech at the 36th board meeting of the Stop TB Partnership in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Mandaviya said.
He claimed that as the G20 Chair, India has identified three crucial health priorities. The Health Minister continued, "All of these are centred on universal health care and related to our reaction for TB elimination."
With innovation in case discovery, mathematical modelling, digital interventions, and surveillance, a great deal of remarkable work is being done at the grassroots level. The Minister stated that India would be pleased to provide technical assistance to other nations so they can adopt similar good practises.
Mandaviya emphasised that initiatives are being taken to not only recover from COVID-19 but also to implement cutting-edge tactics like the "Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan," which has grown to be a unique movement in the globe. It is a call to action to mobilise communities to end TB, he continued.
The Health Minister emphasised the critical role played by the TB vaccine in the global effort to combat the disease and requested the Stop TB Partnership Board to consider this issue and bring it up at the UN high-level meeting on universal health coverage in September of this year. He emphasised the urgent need for TB vaccination.
Fast-tracking its growth, increasing production capacity, and assisting nations with easy access are all crucial, said Mandaviya.
The world will be driven by India's achievement in eradicating TB, stressed Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of STOP TB Partnership. She also lauded India for using its Ni-kshay data to "perform very sophisticated modelling." "The world can learn from the inventions, concepts, and methods used to bring healthcare closer to people, "she declared. The Stop TB Partnership Board welcomed the TB burden estimate India prepared using local data.
An “Accountability Report of tuberculosis-affected Communities and Civil Society: Priorities to Close the Deadly Divide” was also launched at the event.
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