Chamba steps up anti-TB campaign
A special monthly meeting on the National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Programme was held on Friday by the Health and Family Welfare Department, Chamba, under the chairmanship of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Bipen Thakur.
Addressing the meeting, the CMO shared that 42 new TB patients were identified across the district during the recently concluded 100-day TB campaign. For 2025, Chamba district has been assigned a target of detecting 970 new TB cases — 150 fewer than last year’s target.
Dr Thakur appealed to the public to register as Nikshay Mitras through the official portal, enabling them to support TB patients with necessary assistance.
District TB Officer Dr Harit Puri emphasised the need to improve TB case notifications, boost treatment success rates and conduct monthly risk assessments for TB patients. He also stressed the importance of ensuring timely payments under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana, which now offers Rs 1,000 per month (up from Rs 500) to support the nutritional needs of TB patients.
Dr Puri reiterated that TB is completely curable, noting that even drug-resistant cases can be treated successfully after six months of DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short-course).
He further said attendees about an ongoing TB screening campaign, launched on December 7, targeting 45 vulnerable population groups, including the elderly, diabetics, smokers, former TB patients, prisoners, orphanage residents, tribal communities and slum dwellers. Lists of these groups have already been distributed among Community Health Officers (CHOs) and ASHA workers to ensure focused screening.
The meeting also highlighted the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, encouraging individuals—including government employees, community leaders and businesspeople—and organisations to “adopt” TB patients as Nikshay Mitras to provide nutritional support during the six-month treatment period, thus improving recovery outcomes and combating social stigma.
State TB Consultant Dr Kamesh, also present at the meeting, directed that complete details of TB patients missing from the national portal be submitted promptly for timely updates. He stressed the need to increase patient referrals and recommended NAAT testing as the preferred diagnostic method for TB.
Following the TB meeting, the monthly review meeting of the Chamba Health Department was also conducted. CMO Dr Bipin Thakur reviewed performance reports submitted by Block Medical Officers and issued directives to strengthen public healthcare services. He emphasised involving Panchayati Raj Institutions to achieve 100 per cent institutional deliveries and reviewed the progress of various health initiatives under the Aspirational District programme.
Himachal Tribune