Ludhiana: Two years on, TB patients yet to get diet money

Tuberculosis patients in the district have not received the diet money they are entitled to for the last two years, as the state awaits National Health Mission funds from the Centre.
TB patients receive ₹500 every month to help them get a healthy diet with the treatment.
“It is very important for TB patients to take a nutritious diet when they are under treatment as it makes a huge difference to their recovery. This amount helps the patient to spend on diet and ensure their speedy recovery,” said district TB officer Dr Ashish Chawla.
This sum, he said, also in a way incentivises the treatment for the poor patient. “Some patients out of ignorance give up the treatment midway as soon they feel a little better. However, that only makes the situation worse for them. With this incentive they at least keep up with the treatment on a monthly basis,” he said.
Diet money for two months is given to a patient as soon as they register. However, giving this amount after they have already dealt with the disease, Dr Chawla said, defeated the very purpose of the scheme.
“They need the money when they are supposed to look after their nutrition.”
Around 10,000 patients are registered in the district in a year on average. At present there are around 6,000 active patients in the district.
Dr Chawla said, “In March earlier this year, we got around ₹60 lakh with which we cleared the payment for the pending cases.”
“The backlog is due to the pending payment under the National Health Mission (NHM) from the Centre for the last two years,” said state TB officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar.