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CAP-TB Project | Launch and Stakeholders Meet | Joining hands to make Mysuru and Chamarajanagar TB free | 6th April 2023 #TbfreeIndia

Apr 6, 2023

Mr. K Dinesh, the co-founder of Infosys and Managing Trustee of Ashraya Hastha Trust along with the CETI Co-founders Dr. Salil Bhargava and Dr. Manoj Jain, Project Director Commodore Raman Arora (Retd.) of CETI-Collaboration to Eliminate Tuberculosis among Indians have collaborated to launch their Comprehensive Approach using PDSA to eliminate TB (CAP-TB) Project in the two districts of Karnataka, Mysuru, and Chamarajanagar. The launch event took place at Sri Rajendra Centenary Auditorium, JSS Hospital, Mysuru, on Wednesday, 06th April 2023.

India has the highest burden of TB in the world, with approximately 2.8 million cases reported annually. The CAP-TB Project aims to contribute to the national efforts towards achieving a TB-free India by 2025.

The launch event was attended by over 350 stakeholders, including healthcare workers, government officials, representatives from non-governmental organizations, and Medical staff and students of JSS Hospital. The project is expected to benefit over 1.5 million people in the two districts of Karnataka. 

Dr. Anil S, State TB Officer spoke about the strengths and shortcomings of the TB Elimination Program in Karnataka and how CETI can help overcome those. He appreciated the work of both the DTOs, Dr. Shiraz Ahmed and Dr. Ravikumar MS. The importance of multi-sector involvement was discussed. He also suggested spreading the same PDSA approach to other districts. Dr. Rajeshwari Devi, Divisional Joint Director also shared her views regarding the support of district administration towards the DTOs and targeting the Tribal population. 

To support the project, CEO Zilla Panchayat Ms. Gayithri K M and spoke about their vision to help make their districts and Gram Panchayats TB-free. 

WHO Consultant, Dr. Shazia Anjum mentioned her ongoing support to the two districts and also added her role in achieving Sub National Certification. 

During the panel discussion, coordinated by Dr. Salil Bhargava and Commodore Raman Arora,  IMA President Chamrajanagar Dr. Basavarajendra and IMA Vice President Mysuru-Dr. Chandra Bhan Singh spoke about the roles of Private practitioners in TB Notification and how they can use their power to bridge the gap. Assistant Drugs Controllers, Ms. Nazia Qurrathulain and Ms. Ashalatha added the importance of maintaining H1 schedule registers by pharmacists and sending timely reports in order to decrease the delay in patient detection and finding missed private cases.

In support of District TB Officers, Dr. Shiraz Ahmed and Dr. Ravi Kumar, stakeholders like Dr. Halappa Chalageri- Physician, Railway Hospital, Dr.V.Varadaraj- Medical Superintendent, ESI Hospital, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Muniraj, Project Coordinator Officer, Tribal Welfare department and Ms. Rashmi, Deputy Director, Mines Department joined the panel discussion and spoke about their roles in support of the TB program through their MoU with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Central TB Division. Screening for TB at Railway and ESI hospitals along with Workplace screening were the major key takeaways from the discussion. Dr. Mudassir Azeez, HOD-Community Medicine, and Dr. Suneetha, HOD-Medicine from MMC & RI spoke regarding the importance of repeated sensitization for physicians in the Medical Colleges and referral from different departments for the detection of Extra Pulmonary cases. 

Representatives from NGOs like Mr. K S Gururaja- Managing Trustee, Asha Kirana, Mr. Shashidharan Katteri- Senior Manager Programs, and Mr. Chandrashekra Patil-District Lead Chamarajanagar, KHPT, Dr. Abhishek-Assistant Program Director, SVYM, and Mr. Manjappa also joined the panel discussion mentioning how they have aligned or will align their efforts with respect to the District Administration and shift their focus of work to the targeted Taluks (Piriyapatna, T. Narsipura, and K R Nagara) in Mysuru and (Chamarajanagar Head quarter, Kollagel and Gundlupet) in Chamarajanagar for making them TB free first. 

Nikshay Mitras, Mr. Raghavan from Raghulal Pharmacy who has adopted 70 patients also took part in the panel discussion and shared his wish to give more social service to the people of his district and state. 

TB champions along with their children were also present. Children came forward to show their support for their parents and community in the fight against TB.

Overall, the panel discussion highlighted the collaborative efforts being made by various stakeholders in the fight against TB, and the need for continued efforts towards achieving the goal of TB elimination in India. 

In the end, Mr. K Dinesh spoke about his vision of Ashraya Hastha Trust in TB Elimination. Through this project, he wants to support his country to achieve our Prime Minister’s goal of TB Elimination by 2025. 

Mr. Nanda Kumar Sharma, Ashraya Hastha Trust made the closing remarks and thanked all the people who attended the program.    

Overall, the launch event saw participation from various stakeholders and highlighted the need for collaboration and coordinated efforts to eliminate TB from the state. CETI’s role as a catalyst in this process was emphasized and its ability to bring together diverse stakeholders to work towards a common goal was appreciated. 

After the launch event, Dr. Salil Bhargava gave a talk regarding Tuberculosis to the Medical Students of JSS Hospital and Mysore Medical College on how to stop the spread of infection at different places like hospitals, public places, homes, etc. Mr. K. Dinesh and Mrs. Asha Dinesh along with the other dignitaries and professors from the JSS Hospital also attended the 2nd session.