The Government of India has been working on TB since 1962 & launched a program called National Tuberculosis Program which later converted into the Revised National Tuberculosis Program in 1997 which was further converted to National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme, with a goal to eliminate Tuberculosis by 2025.
The project intends to achieve the following specific objectives within three years:
▪ To accelerate the early detection of TB cases in high-risk group.
▪ To ensure patient ease and convenience for providing the sputum sample at health facilities and linking to appropriate transport and testing services.
▪ To institute a mechanism for the collection of respiratory (GA/IS/BAL) and extra-pulmonary samples.
▪ To avoid/reduce the travel of patients, to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure, and reduce loss in referral.
▪ To ensure access to free and quality assured investigations for pre-treatment evaluation and follow-up of DR-TB patients.
▪ To ensure easy access to free X-ray investigation for patients in the public and private sectors.