PASIGHAT, 31 Jan: A ‘100 days 100 districts’ campaign titled ‘Aashwasan’ (assurance) – a mobile medical van-based campaign to promote Covid-19 vaccination and find active TB cases in East Siang district – was launched by local MLA Kaling Moyong at the district TB office here in East Siang district on Monday.
The project, supported by the USAID, will be implemented by the Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute under its tribal health programme ‘Anamaya’, with the help of the department concerned.
Apart from conducting Covid-19 awareness campaigns, sputum collection and testing will be done, based on symptoms, to identify potential TB patients at the village level. Treatment will be provided free of cost by the government upon confirmation of the disease.
Under this campaign, the people will not have to go to the government health centres for testing. The sputum of presumptive cases will be collected from home and transported to the nearest diagnostic centre for testing.
The campaigns will be conducted in five ‘health tribal blocks’ – Pasighat, Ruksin, Mebo, Yagrung and Bilat.
Among others, Deputy Commissioner Tayi Taggu, DMO Dr Radesh Tattan, Health Services Joint Director Dr T Tali and District TB Officer Dr T Siram were present at the launch.
In the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR), Deputy Commissioner Talo Potom launched the Aashwasan campaign from TRIHMS in Naharlagun.
Under the programme, awareness campaigns on Covid-19 and tests to detect TB cases will be done in the tribal blocks of Papum Pare, East Siang, Lohit and Lower Dibang Valley districts through mobile vehicles.
The DC sought cooperation from all “in this endeavour to completely eradicate TB.” He said that the treatment for TB is completely free but early detection is required to stop the spread of the disease.
DMO Dr Mandip Perme said that the aim of the campaign is to reach out to the unreachable, and to detect TB cases as early as possible.
TB MO Dr Hage Tayo informed about the symptoms of TB, and said that the only way to break the transmission of the disease is to detect it early. He informed that the target is to eliminate TB completely by 2025.
The DMO further informed that, along with free tests and treatment, the government also provides Rs 500 per month to the patients during the course of treatment. (DIPROs)
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