BD-India Launches SANKALP – A Catalytic Effort to Support the Goal of Eliminating Tuberculosis

To support the goal of eliminating Tuberculosis elimination in India by 2025, Becton Dickinson (BD) India has launched SANKALP – a ‘Pledge to Fight TB Together’.

Rewari Deputy Commissioner Shri Ashok Kumar Garg, IAS and Vishal Taneja, Business Director, BD India/South Asia, flagging off the SANKALP TB screening mobile van in Rewari

Launched in Rewari today, Project SANKALP is aimed to be a catalytic effort to further strengthen the existing state machinery for TB diagnosis & management and developing a replicable and sustainable model that can be scaled up in other geographies. To begin with, the project is being initiated in Khol TB Unit (TBU) of District Rewari, with the target to cover a 2.2 lakh population spanning across 38,000 households in 118 villages in Year 1. Having gained learnings from the on-ground experience in Year 1, SANKALP will be subsequently reviewed and scaled up to other TBUs in Rewari over the next 3-5 years.

Rewari Deputy Commissioner Shri Ashok Kumar Garg lighting the lamp to launch project SANKALP in Rewari today

Project SANKALP aims to support TB patients throughout their journey to facilitate early detection and timely management. This will be achieved by bringing the TB diagnostics closer to the patients through a customized SANKALP mobile screening van that is equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic interventions including CBNAAT, Xray & AI assisted Teleradiology innovation, and blood glucose monitoring for eligible cases (patients) as per the NTEP algorithms & guidelines. The SANKALP team will conduct door-to-door active case finding for increased case detection & notifications, while also focusing on improving awareness within the community and healthcare providers for proper referrals to the program.

Present at the launch of SANKALP, Vishal Taneja, Business Director, MDS & NT, BD India/South Asia said, “SANKALP is designed to be a proactive intervention that starts from the root- identifying people with tuberculosis symptoms and supporting across the care continuum for positive patient outcomes. SANKALP team is integrated within the local community to enable and encourage adherence, that includes linking patients and their contacts with free testing, medication and other services of the government.

Lauding BD’s efforts in launching SANKALP at Rewari, Deputy Commissioner Shri Ashok Kumar Garg, IAS said, “Project SANKALP stands out for its focus on improved patient outcomes through holistic interventions that address key aspects of the TB care cascade, including community & HCP awareness, capacity building of stakeholders, and support being provided to patients and their families & contacts to simplify their journey and prevent loss to follow up.”

Explaining about the benefits of SANKALP, Dr. Krishan Kumar, Civil Surgeon, Rewari added, “We are happy to support SANKALP implementation in our district as we believe that it will further bolster and complement our efforts on the ground towards attaining our TB elimination goal. The SANKALP team is collaborating closely with us to achieve the desired program outcomes.”

The launch had participation from several other dignitaries including Dr. Raghuram Rao (Assistant Director General, Central TB Division), Dr. Rajesh Raju (State TB Officer), Dr. Kritika Bansal (WHO Consultant), Dr. Rajbir Singh (Deputy Civil Surgeon, Rewari), Dr. Ravindra Kumar Dewan (Director, NITRD), Dr. Reuben Swamickan (Chief, Infectious Diseases Division, USAID), and Dr. Jyoti Jaju (Project Director, The UNION).

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