As part of the Indian Air Force's endeavour to contribute to social causes that promote nation building, the Air Force has committed its participation in the "Ni-Kshaya Mitra" scheme.
It is an initiative under "Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (PMTB MBA), implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- It aims to end TB by the year 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030.
- First articulated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister in 2018, "Ni-Kshaya Mitra" is an initiative to provide additional clinical, nutritional and professional support to people undergoing treatment for TB by elected representatives, corporates, institutions, NGOs and individuals. This will help them on their journey towards success and recovery.
- In this direction, a program was organised in Delhi on 23 August 2023 by the Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.
- In which the Indian Air Force team handed over a contribution of Rs 46 lakhs collected through voluntary contributions to Ms LS Changsan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
- Through this contribution, the Indian Air Force has committed to support 765 patients undergoing treatment in the state of Delhi for a period of six months.
- As per the prescribed norms of Government of India, the assistance will be in the form of food baskets and will be implemented through Government approved NGOs.
Ni-Kshaya Mitra/Nikshaya Poshan Yojana:
- Nikshay Poshan Yojana was launched in April 2018 in the form of Direct Benefit Transfer to provide nutritional support to TB patients.
- Under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana, TB patients are given Rs 500 per month for the entire duration of treatment.
- Nikshay Poshan aims to help TB patients by providing an amount of Rs 500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer for nutritional needs.
Tuberculosis (TB) Day:
- TB Day is celebrated all over the world on 24 March. On this day people are made aware about TB. Every year around 17 lakh people die due to TB worldwide. According to the WHO Global TB Report 2022, 21.4 lakh TB cases were reported in India in the year 2021.
- In the year 2021, the number of TB patients in India was found to be 210 per 1 lakh population. According to statistics, about 800 people die of TB every day in India. At the same time, about 10 percent of cases are found in children, but only 6 percent of these cases are reported.
- In such a situation, more than 22 crore people were screened for TB in 2021 across the country for early detection and treatment of TB.
TB elimination target by 2025:
- During the 'End TB Summit' held in New Delhi in March 2018, PM Modi called for India to achieve SDG targets related to TB by 2025, five years ahead of schedule.
- At the same time, under the leadership of India, One World TB Summit - 2023 was organised on March 24, 2023 at Rudraksh Convention Center in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
- In such a situation, the 'One World TB Summit' will provide an opportunity to further discuss these goals as India continues to increase its T.B. Rapid progress is being made towards meeting the elimination objectives.
Tuberculosis (TB):
- TB i.e. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease. The germ that causes TB was discovered in 1882. This disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It often affects the lungs. The Central Government has resolved to eliminate TB completely from the country. This is the reason why the new health policy has set a target of eradicating TB by 2025.