Topic– Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources; Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
3) Discuss the challenges faced by India in eradicating Tuberculosis. (250 words)
Why this question
TB is an important infectious disease affecting millions of people worldwide. India harbours the highest TB burden in the world. In this context, it is important to analyze as to what prevents India from eradicating tuberculosis.
Directive word
Discuss- this is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. we also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to write in detail about the challenges faced by India in eradicating TB.
Structure of the answer
Introduction- Write a few introductory lines about the burden of tuberculosis across the world and particularly in India. e.g The global burden of tuberculosis is in decline. However, with an estimated 10 million new cases of tuberculosis and 1.6 million dying from the disease globally in 2017, we still have a long way to go; India, which accounts for 27% of the world’s tuberculosis burden, had set its own target at the End-TB Summit in Delhi earlier this year: TB Free India by 2025.
Body-
Discussion points/ paragraphs the factors responsible for impeding India’s efforts to dedicate TB. e.g The under-reporting of tuberculosis cases has been a perpetual issue hampering efforts at estimating, controlling and treating the disease. Though the number of reported cases from India has seen a jump since 2013, largely attributed to increased reporting from the private health sector, the underreporting of tuberculosis cases that have been detected and the under-diagnosis of the disease itself make a treatable and curable disease like tuberculosis deadly and rampant; In 2012, when it declared tuberculosis a notifiable disease, India had set up “Nikshay,” an online tuberculosis reporting system for medical practitioners and clinical establishments, with the aim to increase the reporting of tuberculosis, especially from the private sector. In the years since it was launched, Nikshay has faced many roadblocks on the ground, such as unawareness of the system, unwillingness to report due to misconceptions about it, inconsistency in reporting, and lack of incentives for those reporting cases etc. Of the five risk factors for tuberculosis mentioned in the World Health Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2018—alcohol, smoking, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and undernutrition—it is undernutrition that poses the gravest risk in India, as it does in other poor, developing nations, especially among children. The prevention and successful treatment of tuberculosis are closely linked with the overall improvement in nutrition and health indicators, poverty, and access to healthcare etc.
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
