The door-to-door ACF campaign will cover all high-risk population areas selected from all 24 wards under the MCGM
Lupin along with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) announced a joint campaign to detect and address active cases of TB in Mumbai. The door-to-door Active Case Finding (ACF) campaign will cover all high-risk population areas selected from all 24 wards under the MCGM.
Following the success of Mumbai programme in the first year, the company is planning rolling out to the pan India. Beside this, the company is already running this programme at their manufacturing locations namely; Jammu, Aurangabad, Ankleshwar, Tarapur and Indore.
This campaign and the methodology of execution follows the success of the Active Case Finding (ACF) pilot that was conducted by Lupin along with the TB department of the MCGM in 2017. The new 12-month project will involve comprehensive end-to-end TB detection, treatment and follow-up with door-to-door visits conducted in high-risk areas to identify symptomatic patients.
Speaking at the launch of this campaign, Nilesh Gupta, MD, Lupin said, “With a high rate of prevalence and resultant mortality, TB has reached epidemic proportions impacting especially underprivileged sections of the community. As a global leader in anti-TB medicines, we have concentrated our energies in combatting TB for nearly five decades. As part of Dr Desh Bandhu Gupta’s vision to address areas of high national priority, we would like to extend our responsibility beyond research, manufacture, supply and marketing of TB drugs to create community outreach programs of the type we are launching today. Our partnership with MCGM is aligned with the national mission of making India TB-free by 2025 and this step will help move in the right direction towards a TB-free Mumbai.”
The project will enlist the services of over 3,000 Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) of the TB department of MCGM, who will be imparted special training for this project. The efforts of the CHVs will be further supported by volunteers for facilitating the effective diagnosis of suspected patients and delivering their test results, arranging for treatment with the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), and following the outcome of each individual case to closure.
Commenting on the partnership, Dr Padmaja Keskar, Executive Health Officer, MCGM said, “Great things can be achieved if the public and private sector in India collaborate to resolve major issues faced by the nation. Through this partnership with Lupin, it would be possible to reach out to unidentified patients of TB in the community and treat them effectively. This initiative will adopt a door-to-door approach for a 12-month period and intends to cover all high-risk population in Mumbai.”
The company has urged to corporates like Reliance foundation, Tata Trusts etc to join hands for the cause. It also looking for nutrition supports from the big corporates.