PANAJI: The State government is tapping investments through the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode to upgrade infrastructure and equipment to tackle tuberculosis.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said, the Department is eyeing advanced technologies, including AI-powered X-ray screening and mobile lab machines to facilitate rapid Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAAT) which facilitate early detection of TB.
Goa and India nationally is already lagging behind in its goal of eliminating TB from the country by 2025 but recently 100-day campaigns have been launched across the country to target vulnerable areas by involving local communities.
The initiative also includes ‘Nikshay Mitra’ which links up TB patients with willing donors who would provide food kits every month, through the duration of the patient’s treatment.
In Goa, the Health Department provides patients free medication and also monthly financial support for dietary needs of the patient.
Rane said he recently attended a virtual meeting conducted by Union Health Minister J P Nadda where he stressed on multi-level engagement right down to panchayat level to widen the campaign’s impact.
Far from eliminating TB by next year, Goa has been logging five new tuberculosis cases daily and this year alone the number is inching closer to the 2000-plus mark.