Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai   

`Private sector has key role in tackling TB'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI SEPT. 16. The Centre's Public-Private Mix (PPM) project for fighting tuberculosis has been initiated in 14 urban areas, including Chennai, Lucknow, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Bangalore, said Deepak Gupta, the Union Joint Secretary, Health, today.

Speaking at the launch of the `TB Free campaign' by Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health here, he said the project was financed by the Canadian International Development Agency with technical assistance from the World Health Organisation.

Mr.Gupta said it was established that public-private participation contributed substantially to the overall increase in case detection, patients treated had an acceptable treatment outcome and PPM-DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short course) was affordable and cost-effective in improving control of the disease. India accounted for nearly one-third of the global tuberculosis burden. As tuberculosis, a major silent killer, affected the poor more, its control would be one of the most effective-anti-poverty programmes.

He presented a cheque for Rs.20 lakhs, given by Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), to the Director-Projects, REACH, Nalini Krishnan.

The State Health Secretary, Girija Vaithyanathan, said the private sector played a major part in curative services.

The REACH president, M.S.Swaminathan, said linkage between nutrition and healthcare in the country should be more effective.

Dr. Nalini Krishnan said there was tremendous potential for the private sector to tackle tuberculosis. She said REACH recruited 111 private practitioners, who treated 1,178 patients with the assistance of its ACT project (Advocacy for Control of Tuberculosis). Six major hospitals in the city tied up with the organisation. Nearly 200 community volunteers supported patients by being DOTS providers. Plans were afoot to rope in the Indian Medical Association.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Slum fires render residents' lives miserable
• Six of family found dead
• Debris on Marina removed
• Show-cause notices to over 340 share-auto owners
• Non-bailable warrants against 20 finance firm directors
• Job agency manager held for 'cheating'
• `Kanchi Acharya alone can resolve Ayodhya row'
• All maps to be digitised by December
• Elders Day
• Awards presented to animal welfare activists
• `Good food habits will prevent hepatic cancer'
• Puzhal murder cases solved, 5 held
• `Private sector has key role in tackling TB'

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu