The Honourable Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, India, Shri J. P. Nadda has launched a nationwide campaign, TB Free India, to unite stakeholders to defeat TB in India.
Speaking at the launch on 23 April 2015 in New Delhi, he said, “The Government of India is committed to end TB from the country and realise the dream of TB free India.”
The TB Free India campaign is part of the Global Challenge TB project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by The Union.
A key part of the campaign will be to create new partnerships, perhaps sometimes where they are unexpected, to find common ground on which to make joint commitments and bring about change.
José Luis Castro, Executive Director, The Union, who spoke at the launch said: “TB requires urgent action. We must be proactive in engaging the leadership of local governments and industries, the private sector and networks of people personally affected by TB. We all have a stake in ending TB.”
The launch was attended by a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from The Union; World Health Organization; USAID; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; World Bank; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Tuberculosis Association of India; Indian Medical Association; and Indian Association of Paediatrics, among many others who pledged their support for the national campaign.
Photo from left to right: Dr Mario Raviglione, Director, Global TB Programme, WHO; Mr Anshu Prakash, Joint Secretary, MoHFW; Ms Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary, STOP TB Partnership; Mr. Dalbir Singh, Member of Parliament; Shri J P Nadda, Honourable Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare; Mr Bhanu Pratap, Secretary Health, MoHFW; Dr Jagdish Prasad, DGHS-MoHFW; Mr José Luis Castro, Executive Director, The Union; Mr Michael Pelletier, Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy; Dr Ariel Pablos-Mendez, Assistant Administrator for Global Health, USAID; Ms Deepti Chavan, Patient Representative; Dr Jamie Tonsing, Regional Director, The Union South-East Asia (USEA)
Photo: Courtesy of The Union South-East Asia