On the eve of World Tuberculosis Day on Friday, President Ram Nath Kovind called upon all stakeholders to come together and eliminate the disease from India by 2025, 5 years ahead of the global deadline set for 2030.
In his message, Kovind said: “Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the biggest public health challenges in our country. The time has come for all of us to join hands in a historic movement to eliminate TB from India by 2025.”
“On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, I call upon all stakeholders to come together for this fight against Tuberculosis and to undertake all the necessary steps to achieve the goal of zero TB deaths,” he added.
“I am happy to learn that the World Tuberculosis Day is being observed every year on 24th March, 2018 to commemorate the day Dr. Robert Koch discovered the TB bacteria in 1882,” the president said further.
“Let us all work together to achieve a TB-free India”.
Delivering the inaugural address at the Delhi End TB Summit here on March 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India would totally eliminate TB by 2025 and has already started working towards achieving this goal.
India is implementing the National Strategic Plan for TB elimination that is backed by a funding of over Rs 12,000 crore for the next three years to ensure every TB patient in the country has access to quality diagnosis, treatment, and support, Modi had said.