National Conference on Women Winning against TB

Table of Contents

National Conference on Women Winning against TB- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes;
- Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Recently, the Vice-President of India addressed the National Conference on Women Winning against TB that is being organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
- He is the Chief Guest at the National Conference on Women Winning against TB.

About: Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing a National Conference on Women Winning Against TB at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Objective: National Conference on Women Winning against Tuberculosis –
- Aims at discussing various policy interventions and
- Intends to garner the support of parliamentarians to own and support the implementation of gender-sensitive policies at the ground level.
- Also aims to deliberate upon various issues with the participants to ensure/inculcate Gender-Responsive TB Care.

Affected People in India: Tuberculosis remains a public health challenge worldwide, negatively impacting the lives of around 26 lakh individuals every year in India alone.
Societal Impact: On the social front, social stigma and discrimination is faced by those affected by TB, and by their families.
Impact on Women: Societal constraints restrict women affected by TB from freely accessing prompt and continued care.
- This affects their role as caretakers and prevents prioritization of their nutrition, health, and well-being.

As India is a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), our national development agenda has been aligned to eradicate TB from the grassroots level.
Eliminating TB by 2025: which is ahead of the SDG timeline of 2030. It is envisaged to make a TB-free India with zero deaths and zero TB disease.
- A gendered approach to ending TB: we must adopt a comprehensive approach to ending TB–including a shift towards gender-sensitive and gender-specific interventions.
Gender-Responsive TB Care: Awareness regarding this is being spread through a series of National and Regional Conferences, jointly organized by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

The national focus is based on recognizing various socio-cultural barriers to tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services especially for the vulnerable section of the society or also those in vulnerable situations.
There is a need to develop integrated, people-centred, community-based and gender-responsive health services based on human rights.
The focus should be based on the principles of non-discrimination, informed choice, informed consent, conﬁdentiality, respect for all, access for all, working in partnership, promoting rights of individuals and groups, fostering accountability, and empowering communities.
TB advocacy programs should leverage the heightened awareness about lung health in people because of the pandemic to spread the message about the disease.