HomeNationBMC's Saksham Saathi to encourage TB patients to avail full treatment

BMC’s Saksham Saathi to encourage TB patients to avail full treatment

@Vikas_Nag_1987

Mumbai. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) health department has selected 23 persons and formed a team called Saksham Saathi to encourage Tuberculosis (TB) patients to complete their treatment in order to eradicate this disease.

Around 45,000 to 50,000 thousand new TB patients are found every year. The medicine course to cure TB takes around 3 to 6 months.


It is often seen that due to the long treatment period, some patients often quit their treatment halfway after which some medicines become ineffective on the disease. Doctors try to make patients understand the importance of regular treatment but they do not have that much time to keep a tab on the patients because they have to attend to other patients as well.

Many patients suffering from TB disease do not take treatment regularly, in such a situation, the disease takes a fatal form, in view of this, a special team of 23 people has been formed, which has been named ‘Saksham Saathi’. Now able partners will encourage TB patients to take full treatment.

Dr. Praneeta Tipre, Deputy Executive Health Officer of Municipal Corporation and Head of District TB Control Department said that, “we have selected 23 persons who have had themselves suffered once from TB, they have also faced good and bad experiences during treatment. In such a situation, now they will share their experience with other TB patients and motivate them to complete the course.”

These 23 Saksham Saathi have also been trained by the BMC with the help of Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS). They will be given the details of the patients, by which they will call patients and will encourage them to complete the treatment.  An amount of Rs.10,000 will be given as honorarium to each of the Saksham Saathi, Tipre added.

Pilot project success

In 2020, the pilot project of Saksham Saathi was started in eight municipal wards of Mumbai. Under this, 242 patients who had left the treatment incomplete were again counselled and persuaded to undertake the treatment. They were also made aware of the benefits received from the government and BMC to them.

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