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Union Minister of State, Anupriya Patel, during her address at the 'Interactive TB Vaccines Dialogue' event in New York, highlighted the severity of tuberculosis and across the world, and advocated for innovative TB vaccines.
The MoS for Health and Family Welfare delivered the keynote address at the event on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. In her address, Patel highlighted India's role as the chair of the Stop TB Partnership Board and reiterated the nation's commitment to eliminating TB as a public health problem by 2030. She said that India's TB program has become a "model for the world." She stated that India had seen a decline of TB occurrences by 16 per cent and an 18 per cent reduction in TB deaths in 2022 in comparison to the rates back in 2015. "India is progressing against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at a far greater pace than the global average, with a decline in TB incidence by 16 per cent from 237 per hundred thousand population in 2015 to 199 in 2022 and a decline of 18 per cent in TB deaths from 28 per hundred thousand population in 2015 to 23 in 2022," she said. Referencing to the National Strategic Plan that had scaled up TB services in India, Patel said, "Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has made remarkable strides in TB care and prevention, from infrastructure expansion to financial support for patients." She further stated that India's TB programme has seen a treatment success rate of 88 per cent and that it has become a "model to the world." Patel also highlighted that under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), a total of USD 373 million has been provided to 10 million TB patients in India. "With over 7,767 molecular diagnostic laboratories, cutting-edge treatment protocols, and an 88 per cent treatment success rate, India's TB program has become a model for the world. India initiated Nikshay Poshan Yojana in 2018 for providing $6 USD/month to support nutrition of TB patients for the entire duration of treatment. Cumulatively, till Aug 2024, NTEP has disbursed 373 million USD to more than 10 million TB patients," she added. Emphasising the critical need for new vaccines, Patel stated, "TB has been the worst killer among all infectious diseases. While the childhood BCG vaccine has been essential in protecting children, its protective effects diminish with age... Despite our advances, the world still loses millions of lives to TB. So, the time to invest in innovative vaccines is now." Highlighting the "urgent need for an innovative and effective TB vaccine," Patel said, "the unmet need for a TB vaccine and its potential role in TB elimination is where the world is focusing now and this forum represents a critical opportunity for us to come together, share knowledge, and accelerate the development of these life-saving vaccines." "With around 16 vaccines having entered clinical trial assessments, the future of TB vaccine development looks considerably brighter than before," she added. She also highlighted India's Research and Development (R&D) with recombinant BCG VPM1002 and Immuvac, the ongoing trial for evaluation of BCG revaccination in adults, and another trial in Phase IIb with novel vaccine MTBVAC ongoing among adults. Underlining the importance of the Stop TB Partnership, Patel later said, "The partnership is a beacon of collective strength and has evolved into a global force comprising over 2,000 partners from diverse sectors, all united in our resolve to eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2030." (ANI)
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