CHANDIGARH: Governor of Punjab Banwari Lal Purohit launched a Pardhan Mantri TB Mukat Abhian-Punjab here today at an event in sector 39. Food baskets were distributed to TB patients by the governor under Ni-kshay Poshan Abhiyan.
He was chairing the Sewa Pakhwada event organized by the Chandigarh administration with the support of Chandigarh Welfare Trust, IND Foundation and Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab.
Launching the programme, Banwari Lal Purohit said that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is implementing an ambitious National Strategic Plan with the goal to "End TB by 2025'. Sustainable Development Goals have given the target of TB elimination by 2030 but our Hon’ble Prime Minister has preponed the target for us to 2025. Keeping in mind the importance of nutrition in the recovery of a TB patient, the Government has launched a program of community support for TB patients through which Ni-kshay Mitras are to be identified, enrolled, and linked to the patients for providing nutritional support as well as diagnostic, vocational and any additional support.
He said that there are currently about 25, 000 patients in Punjab who have given consent to receive additional nutritional support. The voluntary Ni-kshay Mitras will be providing monthly food baskets to all these patients, the contents of which are cereals, millets, pulses, vegetable oil and milk powder. He has urged one and all to come forward and become Ni-kshay Mitras and support the government in achieving the target and dream of elimination of TB by 2025. It is only through all of our joint efforts that “TB HAREGA DESH JEETEGA!”
During the event Mission Director National Health Mission, Punjab Dr. Abhinav Trikha, Director Health Punjab Dr. Ranjit Singh Ghotra, State TB Officer Dr. Rajesh Bhaskar, Civil Surgeon Mohali Dr. Adarshpal Kaur and other officials were also present.