President Droupadi Murmu virtually launched the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, the President said it was the duty of all citizens to give high priority to the anti-tuberculosis campaign and make it a mass movement.
Tuberculosis caused the largest number of deaths among all other infectious diseases in the country. India had a little less than 20 per cent of the world’s population, but had more than 25 per cent of the total TB patients of the world. “This is a matter of concern,’‘ said the President, adding that most of the TB-affected people came from the poor sections of society.
The President said that the thinking and methodology of ‘New India’ was to make India a leading nation of the world. India had set an example to the world in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy of ‘New India’ to move forward with confidence was also visible in the field of TB eradication. “According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, all nations have set the goal of eradicating TB by the year 2030. But the Government of India has set the target of eradicating TB by the year 2025 and efforts are being made at every level to fulfil this resolution.”
