HT Correspondent
TEZPUR, Jan 22: The meeting of the District TB Forum of Sonitpur under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) was held on Wednesday in the Conference Hall of the district commissioner’s office, Sonitpur.
The meeting was chaired by additional district commissioner (Health) Twahir Alam and focused on strategies to eliminate tuberculosis in the district.
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District TB Officer Hiranjan Saikia informed attendees that this was the first of the two biannual meetings of the forum for 2025. He outlined the forum’s objectives, emphasizing effective screening, notification, and elimination of the disease. Saikia noted that approximately 10,511 fruit baskets under the Nikshay Mitra initiative have been distributed in the district to date. Adding to this, the district president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dwipen Mahanta, stated that an appeal would be made to all doctors under the IMA banner to contribute to the Nikshay Mitra initiative within their capacities.
Regarding the ongoing 100-Day TB Elimination Campaign, launched on December 7 2024, Saikia shared that two operational Nikshay Vans are active in the district, and approximately 700 Nikshay Shivirs (TB screening camps) have been held to date. Joint director of health services Rupak Baruah highlighted that these camps are primarily conducted alongside Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Screening Camps every Tuesday and Friday.
It was noted during the meeting that around 2,82,243 people in the district have been mapped for TB screening, with approximately 70,000 already screened. Furthermore, 173 health institutions have been mapped for TB screening as part of the 100-Day Campaign. The meeting was attended by the inspector of schools, the district information and public relations officer, the superintendent of Kanaklata Civil Hospital, the district programme manager of NHM, SDMOs, and other concerned officials.
