TB patient adoption programme is a hit

A central government initiative for adoption of TB patients has proved to be a success, an official said, with nearly 1 million patients adopted in less than a month.

The Nikshay Mitra initiative allows any individual to adopt one or more TB patients and look after their nutritional and medical needs, in a bid to break the stigma surrounding the disease in India.

India has about 1.35 million TB patients, out of which 12,69,177 are adults and 86,750 are children below 14. So far, more than 26,000 individuals have registered themselves as Nikshay Mitra and adopted TB patients to take care of them.

“We have around 13,55,928 TB patients in India. Nearly in one month since Nikshay Mitra initiative has been launched, close to 10 lakh (1 million) TB patients have been adopted by individuals across India. We are looking for more people to come forward and adopt such patients so that the remaining patients get adopted. This progamme is not only eliminating the stigma but also helping in eradicating the disease from the country,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

Nikshay Mitras can be individuals, NGOs, political parties, corporates, institutions, elected representatives etc, and they can support TB patients from a period of 6 months up to 3 years for their nutritional requirements and medicines. The health ministry has set up a dedicated portal where interested individuals can register themselves are Nikshay Mitra. Around 116,298 TB patients from Maharashtra, 87,155 from Madhya Pradesh, 246,685 from Uttar Pradesh, 75,820 from Rajasthan and 69,654 patients from Gujarat, among other states, have their consent and have been adopted by Nikhay Mitras.