PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Delhi End-TB Summit

New Delhi, Mar 13: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Delhi End TB Summit at Vigyan Bhawan today.

The Summit is being co-hosted by the Health Ministry, World Health Organisation (WHO) South East Asia Regional Office and Stop TB Partnership.

The Prime Minister will also launch Tuberculosis Free India Campaign, which will take the activities of National Strategic Plan- NSP for TB elimination forward in Mission mode.

With the funding of over 12,000 crore rupees over the next three years, the motto of the NSP is to ensure every TB patient has access to quality diagnosis, treatment, and support.

The Prime Minister's vision to end TB by 2025, five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals has galvanized the efforts of the Revised National Tuberculosis Program, which has treated over two crore patients since its inception in 1997.

TB was responsible for 1.7 million deaths in 2016, despite most cases being curable. Over 10 million people contract TB every year. WHO South-East Asia Region, which hosts about one-fourth of the global population, shares a disproportionate 46% global TB disease burden.

The health ministers of a number of countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Peru and Brazil are also expected to participate.