National Forum on Tuberculosis Launched

The National Forum on TB will help raise awareness of TB in India- a disease which kills one child every five minutes;750 people every day and is one of the leading causes of death in the country.

May 8, 2013, New Delhi: The National Forum on Tuberculosis (TB)was launched in the capital today. Convened by Mr. Dalbir Singh, Head of Dept., All India Congress Committee, the Forum was launched in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister, DelhiSmt. Shiela Dikshit, Health and Family Welfare Minister of State Hon’ble ShriA.H. Khan Choudhury and Urban Development Minister Hon’ble Smt.Deepa Dasmunsi. The launch was supported by Global Health Strategies (GHS) a health organization which works on TB, cervical cancer and childhood diseases.

The Forum launch brought together parliamentarians, policymakers and civil society representatives to discuss the challenges for TB prevention and control. The event also saw the release of a Handbook on TB in India. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges around TB control in India and the role of policy makers and parliamentarians in this regard.

Mr. Dalbir Singh, Convener of the Forum commented, “The National Forum on TB will serve as a platform to bring together various stakeholders to highlight and address the complex challenges facing TB in India, a disease that is easily preventable and treatable.”

TB kills 1 Indian every 2 minutes. India bears the highest burden of TB in the world- 2 million annually. This accounts for one-fifth of the global disease burden. TB is the cause of extensive economic losses leading to individual, family and community suffering. TB is also associated with a deep-seated stigma that often leads to discrimination within the workplace and the community.

The National Forum on TB will work to raise awareness on the need for improved TB control. The members of the Forum will meet several times in a year to discuss critical challenges in TB control. Based on these discussions, the members will formulate key recommendations to address these challenges which will then be presented to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) for further action.

As representatives of the world’s largest democracy, policy makers, parliamentarians and the civil society play a pivotal role in influencing policy decisions. The Forum will aim to leverage this power to make an impact on the TB landscape in India.

Regards,

Sahil Khillan

Associate – Media Delivery & Client Servicing