BMC's thoughtful New Year gift: Ration for city TB patients

The ration include lentils, rice, gram flour, nuts and jaggery. Representation Pic/ AFP

The new year couldn't have begun on a better note for TB patients in the city. The BMC health department has decided to provide nutritious food, in the form of ration, to patients suffering from extreme and multi-drug resistant TB. Sources said the facility would be made available to all such patients, for the first two months, from Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) centres, across Mumbai. A budget of R1.2 crore has been proposed for the implementation of the scheme.

TB or tuberculosis mostly affects people with low immunity, especially those who do not have access to a well-balanced nutritious diet. As per World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, under-nutrition leads to deterioration of the TB infection, thereby affecting the health further.

Speaking to mid-day, Dr Daksha Shah, head of the BMC TB Control Department, said, "The first two months after TB is diagnosed are the most crucial for patients. In order to help them tackle the disease, we plan to offer two months of food ration to such patients. The ration, weighing between 8 and 9 kg per month, would include lentils, rice, gram flour, nuts and jaggery."

Significantly, the department also plans to provide a special kit to the patients, which would contain surgical masks, hand sanitizers and a special chemical for use by those around the patient. "TB is a contagious disease, so friends and relatives of the patients ought to be extra careful. The kit will contain everything to help ensure the disease doesn't spread or aggravate," a senior BMC health official said.

The official added that if all goes as per plan, the scheme would be implemented within the next two to three months and hundreds of patients would benefit from it. "If the scheme emerges as a success, the ration and kit plan would be extended to first-level TB patients, too," the official said.

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