Bhubaneswar: Union Health Minister J P Nadda interacted with Members of Parliament from Odisha and Jharkhand on the sidelines of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
During the meeting, they reviewed progress under the 100-Day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. Union Minister of State Anupriya Patel and Defence Minister of State Sanjay Seth also joined the interaction, themed “Parliamentarians Championing a TB Mukt Bharat.”
During the campaign, Odisha notified 15,268 TB patients, including 3,514 asymptomatic cases detected through proactive screening. Jharkhand, covered under the same drive, notified 16,754 patients, including 4,574 asymptomatic cases, according to an official statement.
Odisha remains a focus state due to several TB risk factors present in the region, including mining and industrial belts, migrant and tribal populations, malnutrition, urban slums and informal labour settlements.
The state adopted targeted screening strategies during the campaign, deploying Ayushman Arogya Shivirs in urban slums, construction sites, migrant clusters and mining areas to reach vulnerable groups. Jharkhand, which shares similar risk factors, also intensified its screening drive using the same shivir-based approach in high-risk pockets.
The campaign’s second phase, launched on March 24, 2026, covered nearly 1.58 lakh high-risk villages and urban wards nationwide before concluding in July 2026. More than 2.2 crore vulnerable individuals were screened across the country, with over 7 lakh new TB cases detected and 1.97 lakh asymptomatic cases identified.
India recorded a 21% decline in TB incidence between 2015 and 2024, nearly twice the global rate of decline, along with a 92% treatment success rate, according to the WHO Global TB Report 2025.
Nadda called on parliamentarians to engage actively with district collectors and health facilities in their constituencies, review the quality of TB services, and support early diagnosis efforts. He also stressed the need for sustained public mobilisation to turn TB elimination into a genuine Jan Andolan.
MPs from Odisha and Jharkhand reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up awareness campaigns, promoting Ni-kshay Shivirs for early detection, and strengthening supervision of TB services at the district and block levels.
They also pledged to mobilise community support for nutritional, psychosocial, and livelihood assistance to TB-affected patients.
Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava highlighted the focused efforts underway in both states to address TB among vulnerable groups, including mining communities, migrant and tribal populations, and those facing malnutrition or comorbidities.
Additional Secretary Aradhana Patnaik pointed to the expansion of India’s testing infrastructure, noting that molecular testing capacity has grown from a few hundred machines a decade ago to over 9,000, backed by nearly 3,000 AI-enabled handheld X-ray units now deployed in the field.
