A sensitisation programme on tuberculosis was organised by the office of the District TB Officer of Ri-Bhoi under the umbrella of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.
The event was held in the presence of Dr E Kalwing, District TB Officer and H Decruse, General Manager of the District Industry Centre, Ri-Bhoi, on November 24 in Byrnihat.
Dr Kalwing spoke about community support for TB patients and how the community and institutions in society play a vital role in filling the gaps and effectively managing the elimination of TB by 2025, which is the central government’s aim.
Being in the field for a decade, she further said that the struggles faced by TB patients is very sad, as most of the TB patients hail from poor and vulnerable backgrounds considering rural communities where lack of knowledge might cause stigma and discrimination.
Adding with the objective of eliminating TB in the district, a speech by Dr SK Momin was given on Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (PMTBMBA), a campaign newly launched by the President of India where any person, NGOs, political parties, etc can come forward to adopt TB patients by providing nutritional needs, diagnostic care, vocation training for skills development for minimum duration of six months to three years depending on the needs of the patients in need of support to helps them cure the disease in an efficient way.
Later on, they had an open discussion thereafter with the participants belonging to centres of industries and factories under the Byrnihat area where questions of how to become a donor, kinds of support, etc were discussed to strengthen community support.
Manager of Maithan Alloys Ltd, PS Biswal, agreed to adopt 10 patients from Byrnihat Primary Health Centre for a period of six months.
To become a donor or to support TB patients, any groups or individuals can directly call the District TB Officer (9436706763) and District Programme Coordinator (9863747516) or register themselves through https://reports.nikshay.in/FormIO/DonorRegistration
