In a milestone for public health, Uttarakhand’s health department has received national recognition for its tuberculosis-free panchayat initiative.
The award, presented by the Union Health Minister in Delhi, was accepted by National Health Mission (NHM) Director on behalf of the state.
"TB elimination has been adopted as a public movement in Uttarakhand, where village panchayats have been empowered to monitor and control TB cases at the grassroots level. An effective tracking system and a multi-sectoral approach were adopted to combat TB in the state,"
NHM Director Swati Bhadauria said while accepting the award.
Uttarakhand currently has over 29,000 TB patients, but the number of TB-free gram panchayats has seen great progress — rising from 1,424 in 2023 to 2,227 in 2024.
Uttarakhand districts and their TB-free status from 2024:
Pauri (412)
Almora (253)
Tehri (223)
Udham Singh Nagar (200)
Nainital (189)
Dehradun (184)
Pithoragarh (167)
Bageshwar (151)
Uttarkashi (125)
Chamoli (116)
Champawat (94)
Rudraprayag (75)
Haridwar (38)
(Insights taken from TOI)
