Rs 228 crore transferred to beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh under Nikshay Poshan Yojana  


Meerut : “As part of the state government's commitment to the TB elimination programme, we are working in mission mode to offer excellent and regular treatment to TB patients in order to completely eliminate TB from the state. The state government is ensuring coordination between various departments in an effort to galvanise the TB elimination programme into a mass movement," Uttar Pradesh Minister of Medical and Health, Family Welfare Maternal and Child Welfare Department, Jai Pratap Singh told correspondents during a media sensitisation workshop on tuberculosis held today. Singh chaired the workshop which also saw media persons from other districts in the state participate virtually. 
The workshop organised Global Health Strategies saw detailed discussions on the TB elimination programme, efforts undertaken in the state toward TB elimination and dissemination of information related to primary services being provided to TB patients. The Minister informed participants about the successful implementation of the door-to-door campaign carried out by ASHA workers recently during the course of which TB patients were also identified. He noted that during the additional campaign carried out in January, March and July 2021 -- as part of Active Case Findings, a total of 19,664 new TB patients were identified and these patients were now receiving appropriate treatment free of cost. The Minister added that the state has so far ensured holistic treatment-care support for 25,000 children under the age of 18 who are suffering from TB: these children are receiving nutritional benefits from a range of government and private NGOs and other social collectives. Their families are being given appropriate social assistance as well. 
To boost UP’s TB elimination efforts, said Mr Singh, private sector engagement programmes will be rolled out in 22 districts of the state in the next few months. He also said that village heads will be provided with pertinent TB-information as part of the training modules developed by the Panchayat Raj department -- this will help to effectively disseminate relevant information across all levels of the community. The health minister noted that under the New India@75 programme, outreach initiatives are being rolled out in three phases to increase awareness about TB among adolescents and teenagers studying in government schools, in association with the Red Ribbon Club. This is in addition to Rs 228 crore which has already been transferred to beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh under Nikshay Poshan Yojana, which was started on 1 April, 2018.
Speaking at the workshop, Dr Jyoti Saxena, Director, National Programmes, Directorate of Medical and Health Services, Uttar Pradesh, said, “The health department is making concerted efforts for the successful implementation of the TB elimination programme, as per state government directives. We are confident of completely eliminating TB from the state by 2025. Thanks to the commitment of the state government, the TB elimination programme has also been incorporated into the door-to-door campaign of the Communicable Disease Control Campaign. This helped us to identify TB patients during the door-to-door campaign from 1 July to 25 July by ASHA and Anganwadi workers”.
Dr Santosh Gupta, State TB Officer, Directorate of Medical and Health Services, Uttar Pradesh, said that the state health department is putting in untiring efforts to provide free medical services to TB patients. He added that, “The health minister's announcement regarding onboarding of private service providers in 22 districts will ensure the speedy elimination of the disease from the state”. He also said that urgent steps are being taken to eliminate TB along with combating the continual threat of COVID-19 at the national, state as well as district levels. 
A total of 3.66 lakh TB patient notifications had been registered in the year 2020, of which 2.42 lakh had been registered through government agencies, while 1.24 lakh notifications were registered through the private sector. In comparison, a total of 2.54 lakh patients have been registered on the Nikshay portal so far in 2021, and all these patients are receiving treatment free of cost. “All these registered patients are receiving a sum of Rs 500 directly into their bank accounts every month as part of the government's nutrition aid scheme. Under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana, implemented since 1 April 2018, a sum of Rs 228 crore has so far been disbursed to the beneficiaries in the state,” said Dr Gupta, adding that soon the state will also see the implementation of TB preventive therapy.
Professor Surya Kant, State TB elimination task force president and head of the department of respiratory medicine at the KGMU, also attended the workshop. He highlighted the state’s efforts toward TB elimination, stating that special attention is now being given to crucial social parameters such as food insecurity, malnutrition, socio-economic hurdles, etc. During the interaction with media persons, veteran journalist Sharat Pradhan said, “When it comes to government programmes, messaging via the media is often the most effective engagement method. I appeal to the media community to further amplify accurate messaging and destroy misconceptions around TB through your writing; and to increase awareness about the fact that TB is completely curable if proper treatment is followed under the right medical supervision".
Representatives of the World Health Organisation, Global Health Strategies, PATH and Centre for Advocacy And Research (CFAR) were also present at the workshop, along with officials of the Directorate of Medical and Health Services, Uttar Pradesh. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts