Today is World Tuberculosis Day. The day is observed on 24th March every year to raise awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of Tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global epidemic. The day is observed to commemorate the anniversary of Dr. Robert Koch’s discovery of the TB bacteria in 1882.<br />”<br />”TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers. Each day, nearly 4000 lose their lives to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 63 million lives since the year 2000.<br />”<br />”Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind has called upon everyone to work together to achieve a Tuberculosis-free India by 2025. In a message on the occasion of World TB Day, Mr Kovind congratulated all the TB champions who have battled the disease and are showing the way for others. The President said the outbreak of COVID and the emergence of new variants of coronavirus had brought unprecedented stress on the country’s health care system. It posed an extraordinary challenge to the healthcare infrastructure.<br />”<br />”Mr Kovind said combined efforts of Centre and the state governments along with healthcare workers in launching the world’s biggest vaccination drive strengthened the fight against the pandemic. He was happy to note that National TB Elimination Program was quick to deploy effective mitigation measures and adapted to the changed environment to ensure that the TB patients across the country had access to treatment, despite facing many challenges due to the pandemic.<br />”<br />”<span style="color: #222222;">Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also reaffirmed the commitment to make India TB-free by 2025 by ensuring access to quality healthcare and advanced treatment. In a tweet, on World TB Day today, Dr. Mandaviya said, tuberculosis is a preventable and treatable disease. He said, together we will eliminate TB and work towards a healthy and disease-free India.</span><br />