Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja on Thursday announced that Mollywood star Mohanlal will take up the capacity of Goodwill ambassador for the state’s tuberculosis (TB) eradication programme. This was done under the ‘My Tuberculosis-Free Kerala’ project, which aims to eradicate the disease by 2025.
Tuberculosis remains to be a major public health menace, being the tenth leading cause of death worldwide. Since COVID-19 and tuberculosis share similar symptoms like cough and fever, it is particularly challenging to diagnose tuberculosis amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, especially as medical resources are stretched thin. Consequently, the state has initiated the tuberculosis eradication campaigns, according to the Chief Minister’s Office.
The ‘Akshaya Kerala Project’ under the state’s health department was recently selected as the best public health pilot project in the country by the Union government. The project was selected by the Union Ministry of Health for its excellence in tuberculosis eradication activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the timely door-to-door services provided to the tuberculosis patients in need of assistance in the state.
According to reports, as part of the ‘Akshaya Kerala Project’, 66,1470 people at high risk for tuberculosis were screened through home visits, 37,685 people with symptoms were tested and 802 cases were detected. Additionally, the Department of Health was able to provide free treatment and public health services to all those diagnosed with tuberculosis.
“Along with the eradication of the disease, society should unite together to eliminate the discrimination and prejudice against tuberculosis patients,” said Mohanlal. “We have successfully overcome the Kerala Floods 2018 and virus outbreaks in the previous years. Likewise, we can also eradicate tuberculosis from the state,” added the actor.
This is not the first time that Kerala has laid out action plans to eradicate tuberculosis in the state. In 2019, about 25 lakh people were identified through vulnerability mapping, to be tested for tuberculosis. The programme also aimed to ensure proper medication for those who turned out to have the disease, and to stop it from spreading. At the time, health officials said that Kerala aims to be the first tuberculosis-free state in India.