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 Dr A. Ramadoss,
Union Minister for H & FW, announcing the attainment of nationwide DOTS
coverage and releasing the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme
(RNTCP) Annual Report ‘TB India 2006’ on 24 March 2006 in New Delhi
On the occasion of World TB Day, the Union Minister
announced that RNTCP has achieved nationwide coverage. This is a major milestone in the history of
TB control in India. The Minister released the Status Report –
‘TB India 2006’ – and briefed the media on the progress made by RNTCP and the
challenges ahead. Dr Ramadoss said
that RNTCP was one of the better performing programmes of his Ministry and is
on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals which call for the
reduction of TB prevalence and deaths by 50% in 2015.
It is noteworthy to mention that RNTCP has treated over
5.4 million TB patients, including 1.3 million in 2005 alone. Since 2001, the treatment success has
consistently met the global target of 85%.
Mortality due to TB has declined from about 500,000 in 1990 to the
current level of 370,000 demonstrating that the progress in India is well
on-course to meet the global goal. The
marginal cost per patient treated under the programme is about US$35
equivalent. This is low when compared with costs in other high TB burden
countries. Furthermore India has
already promoted TB partnerships through public-private mix schemes with the
involvement so far of 220 medical colleges, 10,000 private practitioners,
2000 NGOs and 100 corporate entities.
In addition, MOH&FW has partnered with other public sector departments,
including Women & Child Development, Railways, Labour, Coal, Mines and
Ports.
The challenges ahead include the following: maintaining
quality of services, addressing multi-drug resistance, dealing effectively
with TB/HIV co-infection, wider involvement of other sectors, contributing to
the strengthening of health systems, empowering communities, and promoting
research. These components are central
to the new WHO Global Stop TB Strategy.
WHO intends to continue its intensive technical
assistance, including a nationwide network of field consultants, technical
and operational advice, and promotion of relevant research with centres of
excellence, notably the Tuberculosis Research Centre in Chennai. WHO
technical assistance to RNTCP is supported through strong partnerships with
DFID, USAID and CIDA. 
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