Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 25 (ANI): In a major boost towards commitment to eliminate Tuberculosis (TB) in the State, the HealthFamily Welfare Department, Assam was conferred the national award for a reduction in TB cases in two districts under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) by the Ministry of HealthFamily Welfare (MoHFW), Govt of India.

The award was conferred at the One World TB Summit held at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bongaigaon District was awarded Silver for a 40 per cent reduction in TB cases while Kokrajhar District was awarded Bronze for a 20 per cent reduction in TB cases respectively in the Sub National Certification for the year 2023.

Union Minister for HealthFamily Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of State for HealthFamily Welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, Dr V K Paul, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, among others were present in the event.

Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria attended the event through virtual mode from Raj Bhavan and Assam Health Minister Keshab Mahanta, Avinash Joshi, Principal Secretary of Health, Bornali Sharma, Secretary of Health, Dr Neel Madhab Das, Director of Health Services, Assam attended through the virtual mode from Janata Bhawan, Dispur.

Dr M S Lakshmi Priya, Mission Director, National Health Mission Assam, Dr Avijit Basu, Joint Director (TB) cum State TB Officer Assam along with other delegates from State WHO was present at the momentous event at Varanasi.

Reportedly, the former Governor of Assam, Prof. Jagadish Mukhi had adopted 10 TB patients, the Assam Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma had adopted 5 TB patients and the Health Minister of Assam Keshab Mahanta had adopted 4 TB patients as part of the Nikshay Mitra Campaign under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (PMTBMBA).

"The Assam state health department has been relentlessly working towards the elimination of TB in the State. It is noteworthy here that the State had diagnosed a total of 47,926 TB Patients in the year 2022 with an 88 per cent success rate", informed the officials. (ANI)