Chandigarh, March 22:
On the occasion of World TB day which is celebrated on 24th March every year, Department of Health and Family Welfare Punjab organized an oath taking ceremony in the conference hall of the head office of the department located at Sector 34-A, Chandigarh. The ceremony was presided by Director Health and Family Welfare Punjab Dr. GB Singh. On this occasion Director Family Welfare Punjab Dr. O.P. Gojra, Deputy Directors, State Nodal Officer (TB) Dr. Kiran Chhabra, Assistant Directors and all the officers / staff of the office were present.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. GB Singh said that under the National TB elimination program, TB will be eradicated from India by the year 2025. He said that it is a contagious disease which is completely curable. This year’s theme of the TB day is ‘ Invest to End TB,Save Lives’. Elaborating on the efforts being made for the eradication of TB, he said that three districts of the state of Punjab have been awarded for bronze certification for reducing the new case load by more than 20 per cent and now five more districts are going to awarded by the Central Government on this TB day.
During the function, Dr. G.B. Singh made an appeal to pledge for contributing their efforts for the eradication of TB and a signature campaign against TB was also launched by him. On this occasion, a ludo game was also launched to raise awareness about the disease, especially among children and the general public.
State TB Officer Dr. Rajesh Bhaskar giving information about the screening facilities available for the treatment of TB, he said that TB CBNAAT and TRUENAT machines have been installed in all the Districts Hospitals and Government Medical Colleges of the State of Punjab for more accurate and speedy detection. Explaining the severity of the disease, he said that TB is the second most dangerous contagious disease in terms of deaths after Covid-19. Therefore we all need to be vigilant to prevent this disease.
During the event, representatives of NGOs collaborating with Punjab Health Department to eradicate TB such as United to Act, Global Fund Partners and World Health Partners also spoke in detail about their work and TB champions who have been completely recovered from the disease also shared their experiences and were honored by the department.
