Somnath, February 17 (IANS). To realize the vision of ‘Healthy India, Prosperous India’, the fight against TB has intensified across the country. Gir Somnath district of Gujarat has emerged as an example in this fight. With the support of the Central Government and the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the Gujarat Government is running ‘Bhagiratha Abhiyan’ to eradicate TB in Gir Somnath.
Under this, teams of health workers, Asha workers and para-medical staff are going from village to village and door to door doing health checkups of the people.
Beneficiary family member Ashwin Bhai Jhala told that there is also ‘Swasthya Sahay Yojana’, under which one can get assistance by presenting the bill. A special campaign is also being run by the Prime Minister. Social and political persons can also adopt TB patients and get them treated.
Jagu Bhai Mori told that the government scheme is good and even the last class person can take benefit of it. Many thanks to the government for this.
Active Case Finding (ACF) drive is going on in the district these days. This drive is not limited to cities only, but its reach has also been ensured in villages and areas adjacent to the forest. After the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many NGOs, industrialists, social workers and private hospitals in the district have also joined the campaign. People associated with them are helping TB patients by becoming ‘Nikshay Mitra’. Apart from government assistance, additional nutritional relief kits are also being given to the patients.
Nikshay Mitra Mandal Bhai Rawaliya told that after giving the medicine, people got relief. After that nutrition kit is also being given. Even the last class of people are getting benefits from this. This plan is very good.
Gir Somnath District TB Officer Dr Sheetal Ram said that funds for this are given at the taluka level through the District Collector. Under the campaign, testing is done for free.
He said that earlier there were two machines for TB testing in our district. Now six new machines have arrived. These have been made available at every taluka level with the help of District Mineral Foundation and District Magistrate. With these machines, testing and diagnosis can be done for free. The cost of one test is around Rs 1,500.
This initiative of Gir Somnath district towards the goal of ‘TB Harega, Bharat Jeetega’ shows that any serious disease can be defeated with the strong will of the state government, dedicated health system and support of the society.
–IANS
DKM/ABM
