Ministry of health and family welfare’s National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017-2025 for Tuberculosis elimination in India, has set a goal of “achieving a rapid decline in burden of TB, morbidity and mortality while working towards elimination of TB by 2025,” in this regard, Nagaland Health and Family Welfare (H&WF) department said the state could achieve the target before 2025.
Speaking at the launching programme of “daily regime for Tuberculosis (TB) patients” at the directorate of H&WF on Tuesday, principal secretary H&WF, Menokhol John, said though the target to eradicate TB was set by 2025, with commitment and cooperating from all sectors, Nagaland could achieve the target before 2025.
In this regard, the principal secretary called upon staff and officers of H&WF to recommit themselves so that Nagaland could achieve the target 10 years ahead of the set target.
John also said that the launching of daily regime TB was significant for the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP). He said they should take up the challenge to eliminate TB in the state.
Speaking on “shift from intermittent to daily regimen”, state TB officer RNTCP, Dr. K.T Lotha, said the National TB Control Programme (NTCP) was initiated in 1962 and was originally designed from domiciliary treatment using self administered standard daily drug regimen.
He said in 1997, RNTCP was launched as a national programme and expanded throughout India in phase wise manner. In Nagaland, he said RNTCP was launched on December 1, 2002 with the WHO recommending DOTS, twice a week regime.
Lotha said with the launch of the daily regime from trice a week regime to daily regime for TB patients, TB patients would not get fixed combination of four drugs/three drugs in a specific dosage in a single pill.
He added that drugs would be administered in a more scientific manner according to patient weight and that it would be made available to both public and private TB patients, free of cost, across the state.
Lotha then appealed the officers to remain unite and eliminate TB in Nagaland by 2025.
The launching programme was chaired by additional director H&FW, Dr. Vikeye Losou and attended by officers and staffs of RNTCP.