A century after Dr Koch’s discovery, 24 March was designated World TB Day, a day not to celebrate, but to educate and add strength to the mitigation initiatives.
As the world marks another TB Day on Sunday, a stark contrast between its theme and ground realities is evident in India. The slogan sounds like a sarcastic jab at lofty promises.
“We received a letter from the Central TB Division of the UHM warning about a possible delay,” informed Dr Sivayogi, state head of the Tuberculosis Division in Karnataka.
The letter said that the national-level procurement of anti-B drugs has commenced but there could be a delay in the supply of certain drugs due to “unforeseen” circumstances.
“In many states, TB drugs are not available in pharmacies because of the government programme distributing free drugs, an anonymous TB officer in Karnataka, shared.
“Six months ago, alarm bells were sounded about the shortage of TB drugs. But the government brazenly claimed there was no shortage,” shares Prasanna Saligram.
But now the Ministry of health is scrambling around and asking the district health officials to buy TB medicines locally,” shared the Public Health Researcher, Sarvatrika Arogya Andolana.