Government mulls new scheme for nutritional support to TB patients

The Prime Minister is likely to launch the scheme between August 20 and August 24 through a virtual event.

“The final dates are yet to be fixed by the PMO,” News18.com quoted a senior official from the ministry of health and family welfare as saying.

Under the scheme, individuals, private companies, NGOs, political parties, elected representatives and various institutions will be allowed to adopt a TB patient or patients and become their ‘Nikshay Mitra’ or good friend.

It would then be the responsibility of the individual or group to provide nutritional support to the adopted TB patient.

The scheme will set an indicative list of nutrition for the TB patient, comprising eggs, fruits, vegetables, 3.5 kg cereals, 1 litre of cooking oil, 1.5 kg pulses and milk powder. These will be given to the donors every month who will pass it on to the TB patients.

In 2018, the government launched a scheme called ‘Nikshay Poshan Yojana’ that provides incentives for nutritional support to TB patients. As part of the scheme, the government provides TB patients with a financial incentive of Rs 500 every month for the duration for which he or she is on anti-TB treatment.

According to a report released in March this year, there was a 19 percent increase in TB patients in 2021 from the previous year.

There were 19,33,381 incidents (new and relapse) in TB patients in 2021 compared with 16,28,161 in 2020, The Hindu reported quoting the India TB Report 2022.

In 2018, Modi has announced that India would eliminate TB by 2025, five years before the global deadline of 2030. He also reiterated his commitment at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2019.