Meghalaya awarded for TB control programme

Tags: Awards State News

The Meghalaya government, which has adopted a 'people's movement' against tuberculosis, has recently been awarded for best practices in controlling the disease that affects 2.6 million people in India every year.

Important facts

• Representatives of the health department were presented with awards for best practice in tuberculosis control, communication and social mobilisation at a national workshop aimed at ending TB infection in the national capital.

• The state registered 4,189 TB cases in 2021 while in the first quarter of 2022, around 1,075 patients have been enrolled for treatment. 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set a national target to eliminate the disease, which affects more than 26 lakh Indians each year, by 2025, five years ahead of the WHO's Sustainable Development Goals.

• A National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination (2017-25) has also been launched which ensures greater community engagement.

About Meghalaya

• Capital: Shillong

• Chief Minister: Conrad Kongkal Sangma

• Governor: B. D. Mishra