Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme – Eligibility & Benefits

Schemes are significant for people in any country and community. They are especially important for people living in a developing country like India, where people face unique health problems and may often need assistance to get the necessary treatments for health issues and afford them. Tuberculolis is an issue that is talked about often and affects a lot of people, especially in India. The Government of India has started a vital scheme called the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) to help people who are suffering from tuberculosis to help deal with it and receive timely treatment. 

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What Is The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP)?

Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme)is an essential scheme in India that aims to address problems faced by people relating to tuberculosis in the country. The RNTCP is based on a stratergy called the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) strategy initiated in 1997. It expanded across the country in a phased manner and even received support World Bank among partners that aided its development and progression. In March 2006, nationwide coverage was achieved. RNTCP programme has been highly commended and recognized as the largest and the rapidly expanding programme for tuberculosis globally. The programme benefits RNTCP benefits have been available to its beneficiaries throughout India, playing a significant role in aiding and assisting with problems related to the disease.

Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme Eligibility Criteria

There may be some eligibility criteria to take up the scheme’s benefits. To avail of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme benefits, one may have first to meet the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme eligibility criteria. By understanding the the eligibility criteria or RNTCP eligibility, one can deduce whether they can take up this scheme or programme. 

There are some key points to remember when it comes to the eligibility criteria or RNTCP eligibility:

• You are a tuberculosis patient in the territory of India 
• You are an Indian citizen

If you want to know more about the programme’s eligibility criteria or RNTCP eligibility, you may search for the same online on any search engine. You can also find details of some authority or entity you can contact related to the RNTCP, who can provide information if necessary.

Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme Benefits

Every scheme has some benefits. It is a good idea to know about these benefits in advance if one is descending whether they must take up a particular scheme or not. The people eligible for a scheme may be able to avail of these benefits and receive assistance from the government of India. There are also some Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme benefits or RNTCP benefits that one may like to be aware of. 

Some notable Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme benefits or RNTC benefits are:

• Different kinds of facilities are available through the scheme. These facilities may be used for purposes of diagnosis and treatment of the patients and are provided to them free of cost. All eligible tuberculosis patients will have access to these. For good-quality diagnosis of the patients, there are designated microscopy centers. These have been established for every one lac population in the general areas and for every 50,000 people in the tribal, hilly, and difficult areas. More than 13000 microscopy centers have been established in the country for this very purpose. 
• Free treatment services will be afforded to all tuberculosis patients at all Government hospitals, Community Health Centers (CHC), and Primary Health Centers (PHCs). 
• DOT centers have been established as close to where the patients live. All public health facilities, subs centers, community Volunteers, ASHA, women’s self-groups, etc., may also function as DOT Providers or DOT Centers.

If you want to know more about Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme or RNTCP benefits, you may search for the same online. You may also find contacts of people or authorities that can provide more information regarding the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme RNTCP benefits. 

What Are The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme) Objectives?

Knowing and understanding the objectives of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme) may be helpful. This will help us comprehend the aims of the scheme one is looking to take up or has already taken up, which is the RNTCP programme.

The objectives of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme) are:

• To reduce the cases and deaths that happen due to tuberculosis
• To prevent further emergence of drug resistance and effectively manage drug-resistant TB cases
• To improve outcomes among HIV-infected TB patients
• To involve the private sector on a scale commensurate with their dominant presence in health care services
• To further decentralize and align basic RNTCP management units with NRHM block-level units within the general health system for adequate supervision and monitoring

What Are The Strategic Pillars Of The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme)?

There are different kinds of requirements for moving toward the elimination of tuberculosis. These requirements have been meshed into four distinct pillars in a strategic manner. The strategic pillars are – “Detect – Treat – Prevent – Build” (DTPB).

The strategic pillars of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme) are:

• Detect: Find all the DS – TB and DR – TB cases. There is an increased emphasis on reaching tuberculosis patients who want to be treated by private healthcare providers and undiagnosed tuberculosis in populations that may be at an increased risk of suffering from it
• Treat: Initiate and sustain all patients on suitable measures for anti-tuberculosis treatment in the particular locations they may be able to be afforded the necessary care
• Prevent: To prevent tuberculosis in populations that may be susceptible 
• Build: To build and strengthen policies, institutions, and human resources that have the ability to deal with issues that may be faced by the populace when it comes to tuberculosis or TB

Why Is A Scheme Like The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme) Necessary In India?

People in developing countries like India often lack the funds to be able to afford treatment in a convenient and timely way. They often take loans or other means to try and get treatment for them. Sometimes they do not get the necessary medical treatment and succumb to or die from the disease. For a healthy community with a good living standard, their basic needs must be met. 

By meeting the healthcare needs of people when it comes to tuberculosis, we move closer to the goal of providing universal healthcare and making the health services in the country available to all. One must not be denied or deprived of necessary health services simply because they have been born and bought up in a less privileged society or family. If a person is a citizen of India, a taxpayer, and a productive member of the society, the administration must look after their needs through schemes like the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme.

What Is The Goal Of The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme)?

The goal of a scheme is important. This will help us to identify the basic aim of that particular scheme or programme and what exactly it is working towards. The goal when it comes to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme is to reduce the mortality in the country when it comes to tuberculosis and to also reduce the transmission of infection in different ways until tuberculosis tops being a major public health problem in India.

How Does Tuberculosis Spread?

Tuberculosis spreads among people in the following ways:

• Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable kind of disease caused by a bacterium that is known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis which passes from person to person, infecting them
• Tuberculosis is spread through the air 
• People that are suffering from TB infect others by passing the bacterium to others 
• A single patient may be able to infect ten or more people in a single year

TB is a huge public health problem in India and is a public health crisis that has affected people in the country for a very long time. The country alone accounts for a great deal of cases, about 26% of all cases of tuberculosis that are reported worldwide. This is an issue that needs to be solved and urgently addressed to that people will be able to live better lives and experience better health. In 2011, out of the estimated global annual incidence of 8.8 million TB cases, roughly 2.3 million were cases originating in India.

Is Tuberculosis Rare In India?

Tuberculosis is rampant in India. India is the highest country with the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world. India accounts for nearly 23% of the global incidence of all tuberculosis cases on a global scale. In 2014, out of all the estimated global annual incidences of 9.6 million TB cases, 2.2 million were estimated to have been in India. This is a huge problem and reveals the urgent need to adequately address and solve the issues related to tuberculosis in the country. 

What Is The Situation Of Tuberculosis In India Like?

India is regarded as a country with some of the worst rates of tuberculosis in the world. This problem needs to be urgently addressed and eradicated as fast as possible. Some kinds of numerical figures may help us to be able to understand the situation of tuberculosis or TB in the country.

The estimated tuberculosis burden in India as per the Global TB Report 2015 was:

• Incidence: 2.2 million new TB cases annually – 167 cases per 100,000 population
• Prevalence: 2.5 million cases – 195 cases per 100,000 population
• Deaths: About 220,000 deaths each year – 17 deaths per 100,000 population
• Approximately 5% of TB patients are estimated to be HIV +ve
• DR-TB (Drug resistant-TB)
• 2.2% in New cases and
• 15% in previously treated cases

What Are The Partnerships Related To The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme)?

Some notable partnerships related to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme are:

• 364 medical colleges, both public and private, have assisted with the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme.  
• Health facilities in government sectors external to the Health Ministry in India have also played a role. These are ESI, Railways, Ports, and the ministries of Mines, Steel, coal, etc.
• TB care services have been provided through the private sector and NGOs. More than 1800 Non-Governmental Organizations collaborations and 13,000 Private practitioners have been associated with the program in different signed schemes under NGO/PP schemes.
• Intensified Public Private Mix project has been initiated with Indian Medical Association (IMA) in 16 states in the country and with the Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI), a faith-based organization (FBO), in 19 States in the country under the Global Fund that has been supported through the Single Stream Funding Project.
• Under the Global Fund Round, there are 9 project civil society organizations that are currently undertaking different kinds of activities in 374 districts across 23 states in the country. This help to enhance the reach and knowledge relating to the program. It also helps to engage with community-based medical experts and professionals that may be able to advance the situation in the country when it comes to tuberculosis care and control.

You may search for the same online to know and understand more about the partnerships that have been made with different entities when it comes to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme. You can also fund the contact details of entities related to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme and its partners who can give you more information about its partnerships. 

SMS Services Offered Through The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme)

It may help tuberculosis patients to stay connected to their healthcare provider for different kinds of reasons. So that tuberculosis patients are able to stay connected when they are being afforded medical services and adequately receive the necessary treatments, the MoHFW or The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated a customized SMS service. These SMS services are offered to individual patients on a regular basis. The SMS makes sure that these persons stay aware or are reminded about the drugs necessary drugs they have to take and when to take them. This will ensure that the people who are receiving tuberculosis treatment under the RNTCP programme receive it properly and are not lax about the very serious health condition that they are facing.

What Is The MIS System?

A robust, modern MIS system has been developed, which may be greatly useful for tuberculosis patients. This MIS system helps monitor and track the new and existing tuberculosis cases, delivery of drug kits to the patients, compliance with treatment procedures, etc. The MIS system will be used for linking with the private pharmacy on the sale of drugs used for the treatment of tuberculosis. It will help to therefore integrate the necessary patients into the MIS.

TB HIV Coordination Through The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme)

There have been TB-HIV collaborative activities that were undertaken under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme). These are important to those who are suffering from tuberculosis and HIV at the same time.

These TB-HIV collaborative activities are:

• The TB-HIV collaborative activities that were being offered to tuberculosis patients in the country in 14 states in the year 2006 were scaled up to all the states in 2007. The NACP or National AIDS Control Programme & RNTCP together developed the “National framework of Joint TB/HIV Collaborative activities” in 2007, which was subsequently revised later in the year 2015. The framework clarifies and lays out the policy of TB/HIV collaborative activities that are currently taking place in India.

• On the national level, as of 2015, about 79% of total registered TB patients were tested for HIV. This was an increase from the 11% that was observed in the year 2008. Out of the people that were tuberculosis patients and were tested for HIV, 3% were diagnosed HIV positive. These people were given guidance about their health condition and were also offered HIV care that they might need, which was greatly useful for them. Among the tuberculosis patients that were revealed to be HIV-infected in the year 2015, 93% were put on co-trimoxazole preventive therapy (CPT). The coverage of Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) among TB patients who were known to be HIV-positive reached 92% of patients registered in 2015, up from 49% in 2008.

You may search the same online to learn more about TB-HIV collaborative activities. You can also find contacts of people or authorities online that can provide you with more information related to this.

How Is The Progress Related To The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme) Tracked?

The progress of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme) is tracked in the following manner:

• There will be a review of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme) on a national stage and yearly basis, which will be undertaken by the TB elimination board chaired by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
• Apart from the indicators that are related to SDG related, the review may also discern program performance, providing the necessary instructions that could improve the smoothness and running of the program at hand at all the possible levels.

You can do so online if you would like to know more about how progress related to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme) is tracked. You can also find details of authorities or entities online who can guide you about this and other aspects relating to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme). 

Even Though The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP Programme) Has Operated In India For A Long Time, How Is Tuberculosis or TB Still An Issue?

• The treatment of the infectious forms of tuberculosis has not been validated in a proper manner so that it may be controlled properly
• Treatment is only afforded to people who are in the diagnostic net, and not all infectious cases are detected or diagnosed, which leads to a lot of people seeking private healthcare, where they may undergo non-standard treatment and poor follow-up, contributing to drug resistance
• The sensitivity of diagnosis of tuberculosis may be inadequate without microbiological diagnostic support
• Even those who have been captured in the RNTCP become non-infectious only after shedding bacilli for several weeks, during which several other people could be infected 
• As chains of infection from one person to another continue to stay strong and persist, the risk of tuberculosis infection remains high in all studies that may be carried out

If you would like to understand further why tuberculosis has persisted in India and why it continues to affect people in the country today, even with the presence of schemes and programs such as the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme), you may search for this online. You may also consult a doctor, suitable medical professional, or authority associated with the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP programme) or any other source or program working towards eradicating and solving tuberculosis in the country. 

Conclusion

The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme has been instrumental in minimizing the issues and burdens faced by people in the country when it comes to TB or tuberculosis. As we move closer to the ideal state of having everyone’s basic needs in the country met and being able to offer everyone in the country health services and health, we notice the significance and vitality of schemes. Tuberculosis is a huge problem in India; by addressing it through this scheme, a lot of people feel a tremendous burden lifted from their shoulders. They are afforded the best possible treatment and are ensured that they will be assisted by the country’s administration when it comes to this, and in the best case scenario, will even be sure of it. If you need financial support for your needs and treatment, Impact Guru can help you with raising money through online crowdfunding.