Indian-American physicians work with USAID, NGOs, to end tuberculosis in India

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The largest organization representing Indian-American physicians, is joining hands with the U.S. Agency for for International Development and non-governmental organizations, to make India free of tuberculosis.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, noted in a press release Aug. 25, that India which has the highest incidence of TB is a key player in the global quest to end tuberculosis.

In India, World Health Organization estimates show that in 2017, there were nearly 2 million (1,908,371) notified cases of TB.

The WHO estimates that TB kills 5,000 people every day around the world and 10 million people fell ill with TB in 2017, including 0.9 million among people living with HIV; that TB was one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide in 2017, and was responsible for more deaths than HIV.

In 2017, 1.6 million people died from TB, including 0.3 million among people with HIV.

In light of the vision and mission of AAPI is to strengthen the early detection and treatment of TB, recommitting itself to strengthen its efforts to work towards eradicating Tuberculosis (TB) by the year 2025 in India, a workshop on “Recent updates on Tuberculosis” was conducted in collaboration with Zonal Task Force RNTCP- South Zone 1, USAID partner, Karnataka Health Promotion trust, TB Alert, TB Association of Telangana and Government of Telangana, during the recently concluded 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad.

The main theme of the workshop was “TB free India” with the objective of training the Indian American Physicians on Newer strategies of Diagnosis and Treatment of Tuberculosis, so as to find, treat and cure every case of Tuberculosis. A Total of 150 delegates from USA, Telangana, Andhra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Jammu Kashmir attended the workshop.

AAPI said it would work with USAID and other NGOs together to utilize the 100,000-strong network of physicians of Indian-origin living in the United States to support health programs in India, engage AAPI’s network of private charitable clinics for TB awareness, detection and treatment, and explore opportunities for collaborations between U.S. and Indian medical schools to exchange cutting-edge health care solutions, AAPI said in its press release.

The workshop was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Eric Alexander, deputy consul general at the American Consulate in Hyderabad.

“We have been supporting the TB program of the Government of India for two decades now. With our collaboration with AAPI, we aim to strengthen the early detection and treatment of TB, with a focus on drug-resistant strains; continue our assistance to the government to plan and implement evidence-based interventions to reach a TB-Free India, and improve patient-centered TB services.”

In his welcome address, Dr. Suresh Reddy, president of AAPI, said, “AAPI has an ambitious vision, with a focus on drug-resistant strains; assistance to the government to plan and implement evidence-based interventions to reach a TB-Free India, and improve patient-centered TB services.”

Several other important speakers also addressed the gathering.