Health secretary Apurva Chandra and the Indian delegation met Global Fund on the sidelines of the WHA in Geneva
India’s adoption of technology for its tuberculosis control efforts such as the indigenous Truenat machine and hand-held x-ray devices received thumbs up from the Global Fund which told the Indian delegation that these were ideal for the world to emulate.
The conversation happened in Geneva when Apurva Chandra, Union Health Secretary held a bilateral meeting with the Global Fund on the sidelines of the 77th World Health Assembly. Developed indigenously, Truenat is a polymerase chain reaction based test that has now replaced its more expensive foreign versions. During the COVID19 pandemic the technology was also used widely for COVID19 testing. The Truenat Tcehology is owned by the Indian firm Molbio Diagnostics and was the first molecular test to be recommended by WHO for the detection of TB and rifampicin resistance . It is very suitable for resource constrained settings as it can be used at sites with minimal infrastructure. The equipment has built-in batteries and can be used at temperatures as high as 40°C.
The Union Health Secretary acknowledged and appreciated the Global Fund’s continued support towards the elimination of three diseases in India, namely, TB, HIV/AIDS and Malaria. He highlighted that most of the investment is in capacity building, technical support and lab system strengthening of the program which lead to better sustainability. He also called upon the Global Fund to continue its support to the TB program to strength the capacities of the public health systems. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria invests $4 million per year towards this goal.
The Global Fund appreciated India’s commitment to eliminate TB by creating mass awareness, addressing stigma and intensive monitoring of programs using digital technologies. It also noted that Indian innovative practices in TB program like the Truenat machines, hand held X-ray devices which can work in robust environments, are ideal for the world to emulate.
