Apollo Tyres has joined the ‘Jan Andolan’ (Peoples’ Movement) for Tuberculosis (TB) Free India to contribute to India’s National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) in order to meet the ambitious goal of eradication of TB from India by 2025, five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals programme (SDG 2030).
Apollo Campaigns to Eradicate TB
As part of this activity, Apollo Tyres, in association with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and Central TB Division (CTD) organised in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu focused virtual event on TB-free India recently.
Apollo Tyres concluded a two-week long TB-free Transhipment Location campaign on World TB Day recently, with the objective of identifying TB cases among truckers and the allied population across India. The company reached out to more than 1,09,011 beneficiaries through awareness activities, and 1,415 people were tested for TB. 47 confirmed cases of TB were identified, of which 33 were linked to DOTS for treatment. This activity was carried out using Apollo Tyres Foundation’s 31 Healthcare Centres located across 19 states in India.
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global TB Report, 2020 an estimated 10 million people globally fell ill with TB in 2019, and India carries an estimated 26% of the global TB burden. The highest burden is in the age group of 15-44 years.
Commenting on this initiative, Satish Sharma, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA), Apollo Tyres Ltd said; “Corporates can have a significant role in ensuring the national agenda to eradicate TB, and they can cascade it to the entire value chain. Our value of ‘Care for Society’ propels us further to ensure that healthcare is deep-rooted in the communities we operate in. We have initiated the process of approaching corporates, NGO partners and others in this journey to raise awareness.”
This was the second edition of Partnership for Action against Tuberculosis (PAcT) to encourage Corporates to join the Jan Andolan for TB-free India by 2025. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu’s State TB Officers Dr T Rama Rao and Dr Asha Frederick shared current incidence rates of TB in their respective states, and the challenges being faced. Meanwhile, Dr Nishant Kumar, Deputy Director (TB) CTD, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Arvind Kumar, Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnership, USAID/India, Dr Arjun Kalyanpur, Chief Radiologist and CEO, Teleradiology Solutions and Naresh Kumar Hasija, Associate Vice President, Mylan (A Viatris company), participated in a panel discussion and shared their views on the role of the corporate sector to make the initiative successful.
Apollo Tyres signed a Corporate TB Pledge (CTP) in 2018 to contribute as much as possible to make the country TB-free by 2025, and to date is providing TB services to truckers and the allied population. Apollo’s TB initiative primarily aims at awareness generation, early diagnosis and treatment adherence, to reduce morbidity and mortality due to TB amongst the trucking community.
