The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 14 March, 2023 under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (Ni-kshay Mitra Initiative), With the goal of achieving Sustainable Development Goals related to TB by 2025 has launched the National TB Elimination programme.
It implements key activities as under:
- State and District Specific Strategic plan for targeted interventions in high-burden areas.
- Provision of free drugs and diagnostics to TB patients including for drug-resistant TB.
- Active TB case-finding campaign in key vulnerable and co-morbid populations.
- Integration with Ayushman Bharat – Health & Wellness Centres to decentralize screening and treatment services closer to the community.
- Private sector engagement including incentives for notification and management of TB cases.
- Scale-up of molecular diagnostic laboratories to sub-district levels.
- Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana for nutritional support to TB patients.
- Intensified IEC campaigns to reduce stigma, raise community awareness and improve health-seeking behaviour.
- Multi-sectoral response with involvement of line ministries.
- Scale up TB preventive therapy to contacts of pulmonary TB.
- Tracking of notified TB cases through a case-based web-based portal namely Ni-kshay.