TB India Summit to be Inaugurated By PM Modi Next Month

The government of India is all set to organise a mega India TB summit from March 13-16.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first of its kind event which is aimed at generating sufficient momentum for his vision of a TB free India by 2025, five years ahead of the global TB elimination target of 2030.All chief ministers will be invited.

While the prime minister’s office has confirmed his participation on the first day of the high profile event, the presence of several other global figures in India around that time – including WHO Secretary General Tedros Ghebreyesus – raises the possibility of the presence of not just the WHO boss but also India’s export to the global health behemoth, WHO DDG Dr Soumya Swaminathan who has a special professional interest in TB.

During the summit, PM Modi is also expected to formally launch the National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination 2017-25 (NSP) which was unveiled last year. Though some of the key features of the plan are already in place, the ministry is hoping that a formal launch by the prime minister would give an additional impetus to the programme on the ground.

Late last year, PM Modi had written a letter to all the chief ministers of the country asking them to hold “at least” quarterly reviews of the TB control programme in order to meet the elimination target. “There are about 29 lakh new TB cases every year and about 4.20 lakh people, mostly poor, are estimated to die annually on account of TB, leaving lakhs of children orphaned. Economic loss on account of TB in India is estimated to be about Rs 20,000 crore per annum. We cannot allow such human tragedies for a disease which is treatable and for which drugs and diagnostics are available in the public healthcare system,” PM Modi had written at the start of his letter.