New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) A total of Rs 4,322 crores has been disbursed to 1.35 crore patients with tuberculosis (TB) since 2018, under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana to strengthen nutritional support, the government informed the Parliament on Tuesday.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, shared the steps taken to strengthen the TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyan programme (National TB Elimination Programme), implemented under the aegis of National Health Mission (NHM) across the country.

“Under Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana, since April 2018, Rs 4,322 crores have been disbursed to 1.35 crores TB patients,” Patel said.

Launched on April 1, 2018, Nikshay Poshan Yojana aims to provide nutritional support to TB patients during treatment, with financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month, up from Rs 500 earlier, to improve their nutrition and treatment. The scheme is for all notified TB patients, with the money transferred directly to their bank accounts.

“In addition, under the Ni-kshay Mitra Initiative, since September 2022, a total of 45.66 lakh food baskets has been distributed to 20.3 lakh TB patients,” Patel said.

The Ni-kshay Mitra Initiative, launched under India’s Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, is a community-driven programme where individuals, NGOs, and organisations (“Ni-kshay Mitras”) “adopt” TB patients to provide crucial extra support, including nutritional (like food/supplements), diagnostic, and vocational aid, supplementing the free treatment provided by the government to help patients complete their treatment, reduce out-of-pocket expenses, and ultimately end TB in India by 2025.

The Minister noted that a renewed approach is being implemented under TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan to identify undiagnosed TB cases, reduce TB-related deaths, and prevent new infections across the country.

This includes identification of vulnerable population, screening with Chest X-ray, upfront Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) for all presumptive TB cases, prompt and appropriate treatment initiation, differentiated TB care for managing high-risk TB cases, nutrition support, and preventive treatment to household contacts and the eligible vulnerable population.

–IANS

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