Tuberculosis will lose and India will win, the world will win, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, adding that while the global target to end TB is 2030, India is working on eliminating it five years earlier by 2025 itself.

Inaugurating the One World TV Summit 2023 in Varanasi today, Prime Minister Modi said that today’s new India is known for achieving its goals and has taken this pledge to eliminate TB from the country.

He also launched TB Preventive Treatment (TPT), TB Free Panchayat Initiative, Family Centered Care Model for TB and India’s Annual TB Report 2023 during the event. He also virtually laid the foundation stone of BSL Lab Metropolitan Public Health Surveillance Unit in Varanasi.

The PM made a special mention of India’s global role in the fight against TB. He said that the efforts made by India after 2014 should be known to the whole world today because it is a new model in the global fight against TB.

“We had called upon the people of the country to make Nikshay Mitras to join the TB-free India campaign. After this campaign, about 10 lakh TB patients were adopted by the common citizens of the country. Children aged 10-12 years are also taking forward the fight against TB by becoming Nikshay Mitra. Many children have broken their piggy banks and adopted TB patients. This financial support of Nikshay Mitras for TB patients has reached above Rs 1000 crore,” he said.

A total of 75 lakh TB patients have benefitted from the direct bank transfer (DBT) of Rs 2000 crore sent to their accounts since the scheme was announced by the Central Government in 2018, he added.

“For the screening of patients and their treatment, we have linked them with the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The number of labs across the country has been increased for free TB testing. Today the TB-free Panchayat has started where all the elected public representatives of villages will together take a resolution that every patient in the village will be kept healthy,” he said.

On this occasion, he also shared a story related to Mahatma Gandhi. He said that once Mahatma Gandhi was called to inaugurate the Leprosy Hospital in Ahmedabad, but he declined. “He said, I would have been happy if you had called me to lock that leprosy hospital. In 2007, when I was the Chief Minister, that hospital was locked and Gandhi ji’s dream was fulfilled,” PM Modi pointed out.

The PM also appealed to the people to create awareness of TB patients as many tended to hide this disease from the public.

He underlined that India is engaged in the campaign to eradicate TB by making use of the nation’s experience, expertise and willpower. He also noted that India is constantly ready to help every country in need.

“Our campaign against TB will be successful only with Sabka Prayas (everyone’s efforts). I believe, our efforts today will strengthen the foundation of our secure future, and we will be in a position to hand over a better world to our future generations,” the PM concluded.

Executive Director of Stop TB, Dr Lucica Ditiu remarked that the summit is taking place in one of the oldest cities in the world, Varanasi to discuss a thousand-year-old disease in the world i.e Tuberculosis or TB.

She said that India has a very high burden of TB but with the best plan, ambition and great implementation of activities. She also underlined the global welfare embrace of India’s G-20 Presidency and explained the importance of the theme – One World One Health.

She said that India is on the road to ending TB by 2025 under the leadership of the Prime Minister. She said due to the efforts of countries like India, the number of people who are not getting diagnosis and treatment for TB has gone below 3 million for the first time in history.

Dr Ditiu praised India’s scale in tackling TB and the TB Free India initiative and expressed the belief that India will end TB by 2025 with India’s support. She also informed about the UN high-level meeting on TB taking place on September 22 next during the UN General Assembly in New York and also requested the Prime Minister’s presence in the meeting. She also urged the Prime Minister to lead and inspire other world leaders in this fight against TB.