PANAJI
The Directorate of Health Services (DHS) on Sunday launched a special 100-day campaign in both North and South Goa districts to tackle the tuberculosis threat.
The 100-day intervention will be implemented through the Primary Health Centres and will target high-burden TB areas.
In North Goa, it was launched at the Corlim PHC, where Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Naik, and Health Director Dr Vandana Dhume were present.
Corlim PHC in-charge Dr Kedar Raikar mobilised the local community, and a portable X-ray machine for the district was also inaugurated, which will be used to strengthen TB detection.
In South Goa, the district-level 100-day TB campaign was launched at the Navelim PHC, where local MLA Ulhas Tuenkar and health officials were present.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said this strategic campaign aims to revolutionise tuberculosis management by focusing on improved case detection, minimising diagnostic delays, and enhancing treatment outcomes for vulnerable populations.
“The launch at Navelim PHC symbolises our decentralised approach to healthcare, ensuring that targeted interventions reach even the most remote communities,” Rane said in a post on the micro-blogging site ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
He said that by bringing together healthcare professionals, policymakers, and political leaders, the campaign is a comprehensive and coordinated effort to combat tuberculosis.
Goa has been struggling to achieve the goals set by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to eliminate TB by 2025, logging an average of five new cases daily.
Also, according to the ‘India TB Report 2024’, although Goa has had a lower number of cases than the national average, the State’s mortality rate among TB patients has been higher than the national average in the two successive years of 2022 (8.3%) and 2023 (9.6%). The all-India average mortality in TB patients is just 3.9%.
Alcoholism and type-II diabetes among TB patients have been identified as the two most contributing factors to Goa’s higher mortality rate.
