After the successful polio campaign, the Indian government is banking on celebrity and appeal of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan in its mission to eradicate TB from the nation.
March 24 is observed every year as the World Tuberculosis Day to generate public awareness about tuberculosis. Despite available treatment, today TB remains a curse to humanity causing vast socio- economic loss. To mark the World Tuberculosis Day, this year the Health Ministry launched a major nationwide campaign “TB Harega, Desh Jeetega” featuring Bachchan. The actor himself battled the disease more than a decade ago.
Health Minister J. P. Nadda asserted that funds would never pose any constraints on India’s tuberculosis control programme and underlined that there was a need of creating a system which would plug the gaps arising out of improper and ineffective monitoring.
“Let me assure you, funds has never been a problem and will never be a problem. It is the issue of filling of the gaps. It is the improvement of systems. Problems have not arisen due to lack of funds, it has come because either we did not monitor or we could not make it effective. We have to plug the gaps,” he said.
A website of the National TB Control Programme has been launched.
Bachchan, who was unable to attend the event, sent a special message reaffirming his support to the anti-TB campaign. “This World TB Day, I urge my fellow countrymen to be more vigilant against the causes and symptoms of the disease, so that we can fight it with greater success… ”
“History has shown us that whenever we have stood together to eradicate a disease from our soil, we have done it and I truly believe with our combined might that TB Harega Desh Jeetega,” he said.
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